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Delegation hears bill to restore cocktails-for-pickup from restaurants; sponsor to restrict to pickup only
Summary
House Bill 770 would allow restaurants to sell sealed alcoholic beverages for off-premises consumption with food orders and the sponsor said she will limit the bill to pickup only, not delivery, with regulations set by the Baltimore County Liquor Board.
Delegate Shalaga presented House Bill 770 on Feb. 7 to restore the practice many restaurants used during COVID of selling sealed alcoholic beverages for customers to take home with food orders. The sponsor said she will offer an amendment limiting the proposal to pickup only rather than delivery.
"This bill may sound familiar to you because we did have a similar bill last year," Shalaga said, adding she will draft an amendment to "limit it to pickup only." The bill would require sealed containers with no openings for straws, require ID checks for purchasers age 21 and older, and permit the Baltimore County Liquor Board to adopt implementing regulations and limit quantities sold.
Jack Milani, representing the licensed beverage community, told the delegation that class B restaurant and class D tavern licenses in Baltimore County already grant some off-premise rights and that cocktails-to-go during COVID caused no recorded problems. He also noted an 11 p.m. cutoff was included to prevent late-night off-premise sales aimed at people on the way home.
Delegate Shalaga said the proposal is intended to support restaurants— retail offerings and noted longstanding practices such as allowing partially consumed bottles of wine to leave a restaurant. The delegation will review the sponsor's pickup-only amendment once posted; no vote occurred on Feb. 7.
