Tag: bars and restaurants

Wisconsin Measure Would Allow Teens as Young as 14 to Serve Alcohol

The Center Square

Teenagers as young as 14 could soon be allowed to serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants if a measure being advanced by a pair of state GOP lawmakers passes.

Current law allows only workers 18 and older to perform such duties, and “causes workforce issues due to an establishment’s underage employees only being able to do part of their job,” Sen. Rob Stafsholt, of New Richmond, and Rep. Chanz Green, of Grandview, said, as they are now pushing the bill and seeking more cosponsors.

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Minnesota Department of Public Safety, Keith Ellison Shut Down More Restaurants and Bars

Admin

Three Minnesota restaurants are facing liquor license suspensions after opening for on-premises dining against the governor’s executive orders.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division has let Cornerstone Café in Monticello, The Interchange in Albert Lea and The Pour House in Clarks Grove know of its intention to revoke their liquor licenses for 60 days for violating Gov. Tim Walz’s Executive Order 20-99. Last week, agents of the DPS saw patrons in each of these establishments consuming alcohol indoors.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Announces State Assistance for Bars and Restaurants as State Commission Continues to Suspend Liquor Licenses

The Center Square

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced programs aimed at assisting the state’s restaurants and bars as well as families facing evictions.

The announcement came as the governor is facing mounting criticism over her administration’s penalizing businesses alleged to have violated epidemic orders imposed by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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Knox County Not ‘Following the Science’ in Limiting Restaurant Business, UTK Law Professor Glenn Reynolds Says

Jason M. Reynolds

University of Tennessee at Knoxville Law Professor Glenn Reynolds is calling out the Metro Nashville Department of Health’s claims over COVID-19 closures, saying they are “not following the science.”

Starting Monday, Nov. 30, Nashville will limit bars and restaurants to 50 percent capacity, NewsChannel 5 reported Monday. They must operate at half capacity with 6 feet of social distancing for a maximum of 100 customers per floor, whichever is less.

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Virginia Restaurant Owners React to New COVID-19 Restrictions

Jacob Taylor

Governor Ralph Northam announced new statewide coronavirus restrictions last weekend, which went into effect Monday, that will impact a number of retail businesses throughout the Commonwealth.

“COVID-19 is surging across the country, and while cases are not rising in Virginia as rapidly as in some other states, I do not intend to wait until they are. We are acting now to prevent this health crisis from getting worse,” the governor said in a press release.

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Recall Cooper Effort is ‘Issue of Right and Wrong,’ Organizer Says

Jason M. Reynolds

Citizens opposing Mayor John Cooper’s property tax hike and war against bars and restaurants filed a petition to recall him and seven Metro Council members Monday.

Restore Nashville and Re-open Nashville, were among the groups that held the “Recall Mayor Cooper Petition Kickoff Rally” Monday at Public Square Nashville.

Stop Mayor Cooper was another group on Facebook organizing the rally.

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Nashville Metro Council Gives Mayor John Cooper the Power to Deputize Certain City Employees to Cite Bars and Restaurants That Violate Coronavirus Rules

Jason M. Reynolds

The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday gave Mayor John Cooper the authority to deputize certain city workers to issue citations against bars and restaurants that violate his coronavirus restrictions, The Tennessean reported.

Metro Health Department employees are overworked in trying to combat businesses, the newspaper said. Only workers who already have citation powers will be authorized to serve as restaurant police, according to the bill that passed on third reading. The mayor must still given written permission to workers to use this new power.

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s Restaurant Police Cite Two Downtown Bars For Having Too Many Customers

Jason M. Reynolds

Informants reportedly helped Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s restaurant police cite two downtown bars over the weekend.

WSMV reported that a task force cited Dogwood and Rebar, both on Division Street, on Saturday for having too many patrons, including on the patio. The task force had members from Metro Public Health Department, the Metro Nashville Police Department and the Metro Beer Board. The task force checked on Dogwood again on Sunday.

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Metro Nashville Coronavirus Task Force Chair Dr. Alex Jahangir on July 2: ‘Saturday I Got A Call . . . 30 People Confirmed That Have Tested Positive . . . So This Was Atypical, Right?’

Chris Butler

As The Tennessee Star reported on Monday, Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced at a July 2 press conference he was turning the city back to Phase Two from Phase Three, shutting all bars down for 14 days, temporarily shutting down all entertainment and event venues, and reducing restaurant capacity from to 75 percent to 50 percent due to “record numbers” of COVID-19 cases traceable back to bars and restaurants.

Mayor Cooper did not provide any specific details to substantiate his assertion of “record numbers.”

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No Credible Evidence to Support Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s July Shutdown of Bars and Reduction of Restaurant Capacity, Despite Bullying Tactics by His Administration

Jason M. Reynolds

When Nashville Mayor John Cooper announced at a July 2 press conference that he was shutting down all the city’s bars for 14 days, reducing restaurant capacity from 75 percent to 50 percent, and temporarily closing event venues and entertainment venues, all due to “record” cases of COVID-19 traceable to restaurants and bars, he apparently knew that his own Metro Health Department said less than two dozen cases of COVID-19 could be traced to those establishments. But he failed to disclose that the “record” of bar and restaurant traceable cases to which he referred to was about one tenth of one percent of Davidson County’s 20,000 cases of COVID-19.

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Judge Rules Last Call Order Can Stay in Place During Lawsuit

Ben Kolodny

A judge ruled Wednesday that the 10 p.m. last call order will stay in place during a lawsuit to determine it’s legality, according to WTRF.

NBC reported that a lawsuit filed by a number of Ohio restaurants and bars sought an emergency restraining order against the state’s order. The Ohio Liquor Control Board approved the emergency order at Governor Mike DeWine’s request, which mandated bars and restaurants to cut off liquor sales at 10 p.m. This emergency order went into effect last weekend.

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Gov. DeWine Calls on Regulators to Enact a ‘Last Call’ Emergency Law

Ben Kolodny

  Ohio Governor Mike DeWine asked the Ohio Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) to enact an emergency law instituting a 10p.m. “last call” for bars and restaurants across the state. At a press conference today The Governor said that the emergency law would allow for patrons to place a final drink order at 10 p.m. and continue drinking until 11 p.m. The governor went on to say “We have to slow the spread of the virus, and we have to slow the spread across the state of Ohio.” The governor took to Twitter to address fears that Ohio would be shutting down it’s bars and restaurants. This rule would prevent the sale of alcohol at all liquor-permitted establishments beginning at 10 p.m. each night. Consumption of alcohol must end by 11:00 p.m. — Governor Mike DeWine (@GovMikeDeWine) July 30, 2020 The state’s capital Columbus recently passed a similar city-wide ordinance. Shortly after the ordinance passed, Franklin County Judge Mark Serott granted a temporary restraining order barring enforcement of the policy. The order, which was granted on behalf of a number of local restaurants, is good for 14 days, at which point a new hearing will need to be scheduled. Columbus Health…

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