There were choruses of boos when New York state suddenly put an end to the takeout and delivery sale of liquor late in June. While restaurants and bars licensed by the State Liquor Authority had been allowed to sell beer as takeout and delivery items even before the Covid-19 pandemic, hard liquor could not be sold.
As a financial relief measure during the Covid-19 state of emergency, temporary authority was granted for the sale of hard liquor via takeout and delivery.
Then, on June 23, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the state of emergency that had been declared in March 2020 would be ending the next day.
The State Liquor Authority posted a Twitter message: “Licensees please be advised that with the ending of our state of emergency and the return to pre-pandemic guidelines, the temporary pandemic-related privileges for to-go and delivery of alcoholic beverages will end after June 24.”
A recent survey conducted on behalf of the New York State Restaurant Association (NYSRA) found that 78% of New Yorkers favor permanently allowing alcoholic beverages to be bought with takeout or delivery orders from restaurants.
Melissa Fleischut, president and CEO of the NYSRA, said, “Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, struggling restaurants were able to boost sales and keep doors open through the ability of selling alcoholic beverages with their orders.
“The same relief that was once needed at the height of the pandemic is still needed now. The restaurant industry needs stability now more than ever and by making ‘alcohol-to-go’ permanent we can encourage a strong recovery. It’s popular with operators and customers alike. The numbers don’t lie.”
Survey results for Westchester were shown along with suburban counties Rockland, Nassau and Suffolk. A total of 83% of the respondents in those counties said they were in favor of continued takeout and delivery liquor sales. That compared with 81% in New York City who approved of the idea and 72% of upstate New York respondents.
The data revealed that respondents who ordered alcohol-to-go did so an average of 13 times during the year leading up to the survey. The survey found that 91% of the respondents believe restaurants are an important part of their community’s character and local economy and they believe that helping the restaurant industry should be a high priority for state leaders.
The National Restaurant Association has identified three major issues members are facing nationwide.
“Following months of uncertainty, restaurants are continuing to rebound from the devastating effects of the pandemic, but the combination of rising food costs, supply issues and labor shortages are still plaguing businesses,” the National Restaurant Association said.
It said an analysis that it completed of Bureau of Labor Statistics data for June indicated that food prices were up 9.6% since June 2020.
“Food inflation is definitely heating up,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research for the association.
“Menu prices in June were up 3.9% on a year-to-date basis, essentially marking it as the highest growth rate since 2009, and wholesale food costs are up 4.1% year-to-date, the highest since 2014.”
Riehle pointed out that some restaurants are adjusting the items on their menus and cutting portion sizes long with increasing menu prices.
The National Restaurant Association quotes its commodities analyst John Barone as concluding that much of the reason for the price increases is short supply.
At least since April and especially in June and July, consumers have been returning to restaurants while at the same time continuing to buy their own groceries. Food manufacturers haven’t been able to scale up production.
“They can’t get the raw materials needed or the necessary labor to process them,” Barone said. “Because of this, they’re struggling to meet demand with tight supplies and, in some cases, outright shortages.”
Another trouble spot for restaurants, Barone warns, is fryer oil. He said the price of soybean oil, a staple at restaurants, is already running at more than twice the five-year average and is expected to stay high.
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