On Thursday, Atlanta’s bars and restaurants were ordered to close in the wake of the spread of COVID-19. In hopes of maintaining a revenue stream for these many establishments, Atlanta has temporarily lifted restrictions on the sale of alcohol to-go.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has signed an order allowing the city’s restaurants to offer beer and wine to-go, strictly for”off-premise” consumption. The order is only valid for 60 days.
Unfortunately, this emergency order only covers closed beer and wine, not open containers or liquor drinks. (Sorry, no margarita pitchers to-go, or we’d be first in line.)
Across Atlanta as well as the state, breweries, bars, and restaurants have furloughed hundreds of employees. The establishments that remain open have transitioned to a 100% take out option. The addition of closed container beer and wine will hopefully increase the establishment’s revenue streams during the shutdown.
Texas and New York have made similar exemptions during this crisis.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said on Thursday he will not issue a state quarantine or force businesses to close.