Should To-Go Cocktails Be Allowed In Maine After The Pandemic
To help businesses increase sales, the State of Maine has allowed businesses, mainly restaurants, to sell alcohol ‘To-Go’, something that wasn’t legal prior to COVID coming and stripping the publics access to many eateries, some of those restaurants have said the “To-Go” alcohol sales have made up almost 1/3 of their business according to a report by WGME.
Now, Democratic State Senator, Louis Luchini, wants to make the temporary mandate a permanent law.
The way the mandate is set up currently is that restaurants have been able to sell alcohol via takeout or delivery while the state and its businesses are grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, but only if it is accompanied by a food order.
Although supported by many restaurants, the proposal isn’t sitting well with everyone. Take for example the Maine Public Health Association, who is not in favor of this becoming permanent. The fear is that if this becomes law that alcohol abuse will continue to rise as it has been during the pandemic. Representatives in the restaurant industry counter that to-go cocktails are not the culprit, but the pandemic itself is to blame, and taking away a restaurants vitality will ultimately make matters worse for small businesses.
What are your thoughts?
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