I live in Utah where our laws are crazy year round. All bars must offer food at all times. One place we used to go offered a microwaved bowl of soup for $1,000 and kept it in the back. When they were audited it technically qualified…
I have a handful of lifetime memberships to bars in SLC where they require you to purchase a membership for $5
I can absolutely speak from experience here and say that you are not alone in that one.
but that’s kind of my point I guess. there’s been a million of these “essential vs non-essential” decisions made throughout the pandemic so far, and just because people are tired of restriction doesn’t mean those decisions all of a sudden go away. I love wineries. But they are no more entitled to special status to open their tasting rooms than my local watering hole is. but when do you draw the line between a restaurant, and a plain bar, and a bar that happens to be in a winery tasting room, and a restaurant with a bar, and wine bar, and a wine store that does tastings… and which of those are safe? at least food vs no food is a (fairly) clear cut distinction where a line can actually be drawn.
My dentist office in Palo Alto did a trial reopening yesterday, trying out their new protocols. Just 8 patients for the day. I was one of them. (I wrote up the details for a hairstylist friend, since the same sort of measures would work there to reopen safely.)
Not sure of the details, but I know (at least) some bars here are required to serve food. I’ve seen Hot Pockets fill that role. One bar famously offers a “Whole chicken dinner $1”, which is a hard boiled egg.
That’s an assertion of some people in this thread. As I said earlier, I think it’s that they’re considered tourist destinations. Look at various counties on both coasts, where many are trying to limit beach access to locals. if you’ve contained the spread in your county/state/locality, do you want to take measures that may attract hordes of visitors from areas that haven’t? (Plus, would the people who would travel great distances for recreation at this time be the best actors safety-wise?)
Larry, thanks for the update. Hard to keep up.
From the Santa Barbara Vintners Association email late this afternoon:
“A flight is a pre-poured collection of wines you serve all at once with a sit-down, bona fide meal. It is an addition to the option to buy wine by the glass or bottle. It is not a tasting where you stand, pour, sip, stand, pour, sip.”
That’s gonna be a lot of glasses to clean, eh?
If I had to guess, we are a few weeks away from opening, with social distancing, without food . . .
Cheers.