A pair of state lawmakers are separately pushing to make permanent the ability to buy cocktails to-go and revive happy hour in Massachusetts, arguing the measures promote more business in the state in the wake of the pandemic.
Sen. Julian Cyr filed a bill that repeals the statewide ban on happy hour approved in 1984, putting in place an opt-in happy hour program for cities and towns. The Truro Democrat said a local option would empower communities to make their own decision on happy hour in a way “that is safe and appropriate.”
And with remote work now the norm, bringing back happy hours may draw more people to businesses in local downtowns or Main Streets that have suffered from the loss of clientele over the past several years, Cyr said.
“In certain neighborhoods, a happy hour might not make sense. But for other cities and towns, I think it really does. And particularly for these Main Streets, these downtown’s that are really struggling, this is an alluring tool,” Cyr told members of a legislative committee Wednesday afternoon.
Cyr’s bill would prohibit happy hours after 10 p.m., bar businesses from changing the prices of drinks during happy hours, and require a publicly-posted notice of a happy three days before it is scheduled to happen.
And Cyr said nearly 40 years after Massachusetts banned the practice, the Bay State is one of the few places in the country to have a happy hour prohibition still in effect.
“Both Kansas and Illinois repealed their happy hour ban in the last decade, neither state saw an increase in traffic-related fatalities or traffic-related fatalities due to alcohol and that I think is compelling and is significant,” he said. “This bill is again about moving away from this puritanical approach to what people do and moving away from this paternalistic approach.”
Senators backed a similar provision allowing cities and towns to opt-in to happy hours in an economic development bill last session. But the idea did not emerge from negotiations with House counterparts as lawmakers stared down a potential veto from former Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican.
At the same legislative hearing, Rep. Paul Frost asked his colleagues to support a bill that would make permanent the pandemic-era practice of selling cocktails to-go with food purchases.
Lawmakers have repeatedly extended the authorization, most recently until March 2024.
Frost said allowing take-out alcoholic beverages “really helped” restaurants.
“I think we’ve seen enough that this works,” the Auburn Republican said. “This helps our local restaurants. And I think it provides a service to some people who are still not comfortable going out to restaurants since the pandemic.”
Cocktails to-go has proven to be “extremely popular” with guests across the restaurant industry, said Jessica Muradian, director of government affairs for the Mass. Restaurant Association.
“Our guests love the convenience of getting a restaurant-quality drink with their food orders, and it has provided a much needed revenue boost to our industry,” Muradian said. “The reality of the situation is that cocktails to-go do not impact off-premise consumption.”
Not all are on-board with the idea of making cocktails to-go permanent.
Bob Weiner, a package store owner who testified Wednesday alongside the head of the Massachusetts Package Stores Association, said the idea “is flawed.”
“There have been violations,” he said. “If extended it should be worded carefully to reflect allowable reasonable quantities. The hours of deliveries and driver regulations that we alcohol retailers are enjoined to enforce should also be mandated for the on-premise alcohol deliveries.”