While liquor stores have remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person service at restaurants and bars has stopped. In late March, the Idaho Alcohol Beverage Control (IABC) released guidelines that allowed businesses to serve mixed drinks to-go.
According to the guidelines, beer and wine may be delivered while liquor may be sold in sealed to-go containers. However, delivering liquor is still prohibited by law, so the drinks must be picked up by the customer.
Emma Takatori, a bartender at Mingles Bar & Grill, said Moscow city officials and police officers informed Mingles employees about the stay-at-home order and how it affected their business operations.
La Casa Lopez owner Mitch Lopez said the restaurant has also sold to-go mixed drinks. Takatori and Lopez said to-go mixed drinks are made as they would be normally. They are just sold in to-go containers and sealed in a way that follows the IABC guidelines. Mingles sells its mixed drinks in plastic cups with lids covered in packing tape.
Mingles is one of few bars in Moscow with a full kitchen, and has been serving food as well as drinks, so minors are allowed in the bar area to pick up orders before 9 p.m., Takatori said. The kitchen is remaining open to provide employees an opportunity to work and potential customers an opportunity to use Mingles’ services.
“I mean, you can go to the liquor store and get all the supplies and ingredients you need to get a drink, but if you want to come in and get a long island iced tea, you’re going to have to buy five different liquors and two different mixers,” Takatori said. “But you could go just pay five bucks and get the drink that you want, take it home with you to go and avoid having to do social distancing and stuff like that.”
When buying a mixed drink, customers must be at least 21 years old and agree not to open the drink in public or in their vehicle. The businesses are not restricted in how many mixed drinks that can be sold, but Mingles has set a limit of no more than eight drinks per order to ensure the person who picks it up can carry the order to their vehicle.
Right now it is unclear if to-go drinks will continue after the stay-at-home order is lifted. Takatori said to-go mixed drinks are harder to regulate than to-go beer, because they have open lids or are sealed by individual bartenders and not manufacturers
“I think the minute that the coronavirus is defeated, and people are able to go to work and things are functioning at least to a semi-normal state, we will no longer have the to-go drinks,” Takatori said. “But honestly, I don’t see why — if it hasn’t caused too much of a problem for the city — why they could not just add that (selling to-go mixed drinks) as an added revenue thing for businesses.”
This article has been updated to reflect the correct organization that allowed businesses to sell mixed drinks to-go.
Lex Miller can be reached at [email protected]