Restaurants, bars with previous violations ineligible for permit
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Restaurant and bar patrons could soon order a martini or margarita between 10 p.m. and midnight under a looser limit that Montgomery County is considering.
A new program is on the table to allow businesses to again serve alcohol during those hours, by getting a permit — unless they previously violated COVID-19-related restrictions.
The restriction that rolled back alcohol service, forcing it to stop at 10 p.m., began on Aug. 5. County officials said at the time that compliance with COVID-19 regulations was more of a problem during late-night hours.
The Late-Night Alcohol Sales Program, which the County Council is expected to approve on Thursday, would require restaurants to apply for a permit and implement several requirements:
● Designate or hire an employee or contractor whose sole responsibility is to monitor and enforce physical distancing and face-covering requirements
● Ensure that all alcoholic beverages are off all tables and collected from customers by midnight
● Suspend the sale or provision of alcoholic beverages after midnight
● Follow all protocols and guidance issued by the health department and the Board of License Commissioners related to the permit program
Not every restaurant or bar can acquire the permit, though.
Dr. Earl Stoddard, executive director of the county’s Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said during a media briefing on Wednesday that restaurants and bars that have received citations for COVID-19 violations or been closed because of violations will not be eligible for the permit.
Stoddard said the exclusion is for violations related to social distancing, mask use or other safety standard. It does not cover citations for music violations, such as having a music performance in a restaurant. A business that has received a music violation still can get an extra-hours alcohol permit.
“There was some confusion about that early on with what was allowed and what was not allowed,” Stoddard said.
The exclusion for past violators was created because of the county’s concerns that some businesses that have not complied in the past would not comply with the new leniency and its requirements.
“Whenever we issued a citation — almost in every case so far — we’ve issued a warning previous to it,” Stoddard said, “meaning that there are locations that have received warnings and subsequent citations for physical distancing requirements, [no] face coverings, too many people at tables — things where we previously warned them about those rules.”
Those with past citations might be approved for a permit after the first round on a case-by-case basis. The decision to allow them to have a permit would be determined by their compliance with regulations since their violation, Stoddard said.
“There are a handful of businesses for whom there have been multiple citations issues,” he said. “I think those are the ones where we have the most concern about giving them more allowances when the allowances they’ve had so far have been inappropriately implemented. I think those are the ones where we have the most concern about ever expanding the program. Now, never say never.”
The businesses that receive a permit for the expanded alcohol service will face consequences if they don’t follow the rules — rescission of the permit, suspension or revocation of an alcohol service license, or fines of up to $20,000.
According to a press release on Wednesday, the program for expanded hours for alcohol service will also be suspended if one of four scenarios occur:
● The three-day positivity average in the county exceeds 3.25%
● The three-day average of confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeds 100
● There is an increased association of indoor and outdoor dining with COVID-19 positive contacts of greater than 3% combined
● More than 10% of inspected participants result in findings that warrant a citation, closure or revocation of a permit
Between July 1 and Sept. 29 in the county, 23 businesses received 37 citations.
Of those, two — Caddies on Cordell in Bethesda and Intipuqueno in Wheaton — only received citations for live music violations and will be eligible for the expanded alcohol service permit program.
The remaining businesses were cited for violations related to face coverings, social distancing, smoking hookah, operating a buffet, operating an escape room, and operating without a valid license.
Businesses were able to start applying for the permit on Wednesday but must wait for approval which is expected to occur after the County Council votes on the change on Thursday. If approved on Thursday, businesses will be able to extend their alcohol services Thursday night.
“We expect the vast, vast majority of businesses who apply for this program will do exactly what they’re supposed to do — just as many of them were before we took back the alcohol rules to 10 p.m.,” Stoddard said. “But we do expect that there will be potential for some businesses to miss the mark and we want to make sure that we have a significant enough consequence to be able to remove them from this program very quickly.”
Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at briana.adhikusuma@bethesdamagazine.com.
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