CT Restaurant 'Alcohol To-Go' Sales Continue For 3 More Years

CONNECTICUT — Early on in the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Ned Lamont allowed restaurants to sell alcohol to-go, as food establishments pivoted to take-out and curbside sales.

Though the pandemic was devastating to the state's and the nation's restaurant industry, the decision to allow alcohol to-go sales helped many of those restaurants, and the practice is set to continue for the foreseeable future.

Under a rule extension passed in early June by the state legislature and signed by Lamont, restaurants will be able to continue selling drinks to-go — so long as they are accompanied by food — to June 4, 2024.

Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, said extending the law for another three years gives the state's hard-hit restaurant industry an important lifeline.

"This was an important action by state leaders at a time when the restaurant industry is still recovering, and we greatly appreciate their efforts," he said in an email.

In addition to requiring that to-go drinks are accompanied by food orders, other rules include:

• Limits on how much alcohol can be in an order (up to 196 ounces of beer, 1 liter of liquor or 1.5 liters of wine, reported The Middletown Press)
• Containers of alcohol must be securely sealed with no holes for straws or sipping
• Alcohol to-go can only be sold during the hours that regular package stores are open

According to The New York Times, several states have extended alcohol to-go sales for restaurants for a couple of years like Connecticut, with some states making the change permanent.

Iowa, Missouri and Georgia are two states to make the change permanent, The Times reported.