PORTLAND, Oregon — It’s the year we can’t wait to leave behind but for bars and restaurants in Oregon, there’s some optimism to end 2020.
Bar and restaurant owners hope people will come out on New Year's Eve to order to-go cocktails. The business could help save some that may be on the verge of closing.
“We have seen a definite step up and jump in sales of our on-site beverages, or in this case, beverages to be taken home and consumed,” said owner of Shine Distillery and Grill, Jon Poteet.
Poteet is excited and somewhat relieved that state lawmakers legalized takeout cocktails last week. The change even allowed him to bring a full-time employee back to work.
“What we're doing is to-go cocktails, in a reusable food grade drink bag pouch to be used for cocktails. We put a sticker on the top, these are sealed, and then they go out the door,” said Poteet.
Karam Karam is the manager of Karam Restaurant and Bar; his family’s Lebanese-American restaurant in Portland that opened in 2019. He too is thankful for a way to serve alcohol, especially on New Year’s Eve.
“Everyone's cooped up in their homes, there's not that many places to go,” Karam said. “The only option they have is just celebrating in the comfort of their own home. And so, want to make their life one step easier, celebrating this countdown.”
According to Senate Bill 1801 that was passed into law, customers must order food to get a to-go cocktail, and the same rules of discretion apply to liquor-licensed businesses to determine if they can serve the customer, like minors or intoxicated persons. It’s a complex subject, but Karam and Poteet each say they’re doing it the right way.
“I can't speak for every bar in town, but obviously we enjoy this privilege,” said Poteet. “We don't want to mess it up, we want to do this correctly, we want to do it safely, and we want to show the OLCC (Oregon Liquor Control Commission) that this can work for the future, not just the pandemic."
As for the pandemic, it won't magically disappear at midnight but taking 2020 from vision to hindsight is a welcome thing.
“I think that we will eventually get back to ordinary,” Poteet said. “We'll never go back to normal, and I'm looking forward to ordinary. I know that seems like a very boring statement to make, ordinary sounds kind of nice right about now.”
Poteet also suggested to people to rely on restaurant web sites and not search engines for the most accurate and up-to-date hours of service.