WASHINGTON — The Alcoholic Beverage Board is prepared to enforce Mayor Muriel Bowser's mandate to mitigate the coronavirus impact in the District.
ABC emergency rulemaking prohibiting alcoholic beverages from being consumed in-person D.C. bars, or businesses may lose their liquor licenses. Take-out and delivery of alcohol sales are still permitted.
Effective at 4 p.m. on March 19, all ABC-licensed restaurants and bars in D.C. are prohibited from selling alcoholic beverages on-site, limiting alcohol sales to be purchased only if you order take-out with at least one prepared food item. Hotels are still allowed to offer minibars in rooms as well as provide room service, so long as they have a permit.
The board, which voted 6-0 on the measure on March 18, stressed that all bars and restaurants are required by law to have registered with the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, ABRA, when they opened. If a bar or restaurant chooses to continue serving alcohol on-site during the State of Emergency, the board can immediately suspend or revoke their license.
Weren't D.C. bars and public spaces already shutting down?
Yes, but now ABC -- who mandates their liquor licenses -- is enforcing the measure as well, ready to pull licenses and emphasizing the need for public safety.
The move comes days after Bowser enforced businesses in D.C. to close their doors by 10 p.m. on March 16 in an effort to encourage social distancing and limit day-to-day contact. Drive-thrus, takeout and food delivery are still available, and you are still able to purchase alcohol at grocery and liquor stores.
Some D.C. bars and restaurants, such as Sticky Rice in Northeast, are relying on the ability for takeout delivery to stay afloat. Sticky Rice's assistant general manager Chris Bulbulia said his restaurant has already made alcohol deliveries.
"But, the biggest thing is to maximize the profits we can make because we still have mortgages to pay," he said. "We still have salaries to pay. And, that's the biggest thing really."
The suspension is set to last until April 1, and also ordered health clubs, spas, and theaters to close. Bowser emphasized that the call to limit wasn't to hurt small business, but instead to protect residents.
"Let me be clear about why social distancing is so important: When we slow the spread of COVID-19, we protect our hospitals from getting overwhelmed. We are able to keep more hospital beds open and make better use of limited resources," Bowser said.