Say it’s a Saturday night, and a big group has just come into a bar or restaurant requesting cocktails made with their favorite spirit. The owner reaches for the bottle only to find that it’s nearly empty. Under current New York law, she has two options:
The owner can try to convince the group to order a different spirit that she has in stock. Or, she can make a trip to a nearby liquor store to replenish — a move that could result in more than $1,500 in State Liquor Authority fines.
But come early next year, the owner will be able to take the second option without risk of penalty. That’s thanks to a new law signed this month by Gov. Kathy Hochul that will allow New York bars and restaurants to buy up to six bottles of wine or spirits a week directly from liquor stores.
WAMC’s Andrew Waite spoke with Dominick Purnomo, owner of dp: An American Brasserie and Yono’s in Albany, about why restaurants are toasting the new rules set to take effect in March.
