WASHINGTON — Some D.C. restaurants are delivering alcohol to make up for lost profits resulting from the spread of the coronavirus.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council passed the COVID-19 Response Emergency Amendment Act of 2020 to help businesses and laid-off workers.
One of the provisions in the measure, allows local restaurants to deliver closed containers of beer, wine and spirits to customers so long as they also purchase one or more food items.
Legalized restaurant beer deliveries, as well as the rest of the emergency legislation passed by the D.C. Council, will stay in effect for the next three months.
Sticky Rice, a sushi restaurant on H Street, Northeast, pushed for the measure after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo brought for similar legislation for his state earlier this month.
Sticky Rice's assistant general manager Chris Bulbulia said his restaurant has already made alcohol deliveries.
"It's important to adapt, all the time, in the restaurant industry,” Bulbulia said.
According to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, more than 250 D.C. restaurants and bars had registered to participate in alcohol deliveries, as of Wednesday morning.
Bulbulia said alcohol deliveries will likely help increase sales at his restaurant. However, like with everything else related to the coronavirus, he says it is too early to know the exact impact the deliveries will have on business in the months ahead.
"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."