New York Makes To-Go Drinks Permanent as Long as Customers Buy Food Too
Take-out cocktails are here to stay with purchase of a “substantial food item.”
A bartender sells a frozen margarita to go to a customer in Bushwick on April 2, 2020.
Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Getty ImagesTo-go drinks, a pandemic-era lifeline for many New York City restaurants, will soon be part of the state’s new normal. But the terms outlined in a budget bill Thursday comes with a catch: Customers have to buy some food to go along with it.
The terms are part of legislation unveiled Thursday as New York Governor Kathy Hochul tries to ink a budget deal with legislative leaders well past the spending plan’s initial April 1 deadline.
The new law would allow businesses already licensed to sell liquor to sell booze for take-out and delivery, but that any purchase must be “accompanied by a substantial food item,” according to the proposed language. There’s no clear definition of whether a substantial food item means a bag of chips — what became known as “Cuomo Chips” during the pandemic — or a full meal like eggplant parmesan or chicken curry.