For seventeen years in a row, Virginia’s Alcoholic Beverage Control board has had record-breaking sales and profits, with some revenue coming from fines it imposes on restaurants that serve too much liquor and too little food. In a bid to keep Virginia free of bars, the state insists establishments that serve alcohol get at least 45% of their revenue from the sale of food. Now, there’s a move to change the rule, allowing restaurants to make as little as 25% of their money from meals. Sandy Hausman explains why lawmakers in Richmond are reviewing the rule.
Escafe is a popular night spot in Charlottesville – a place people come to dance, drink and dine. Owner Todd Howard has a sign outside advertising tonight’s specials – cioppino and stuffed acorn squash – but in a city with more restaurants per capita than Chicago or LA, the competition for diners is strong, and he can’t force his customers – many of them college kids – to eat.
“We’re not here to bully people into mixed beverages, and by the same token we’re not here to bully people into eating a plate of food either," he says. "If they’ve already eaten their crepe down the street, or their McDonald’s – whatever it is – or their slice of pizza, more often than not they’re set for the night. These college students know how economize.”
Howard has tried enticing patrons with bargain prices.
“We sometime have to take hits in profit to sell discounted food just to get people in here," he explains, "but the thing is that they might buy that $10 entree, and they’re still going to get a couple of mixed drinks, and those mixed drinks are probably going to be about $20, so you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
For the last two years, Escafe has missed the mark – selling too much alcohol and too little food. As a result, owner Todd Howard faced hefty fines and the threat of losing his liquor license. Each time, the ABC offered a deal.
“Last year was $3,000 civil penalty, and we got to keep our mixed beverage license. This year it was a 60-day suspension with the condition that if we pay the $2,500 fine, there would be a 30-day suspension, but even that 30-day suspension -- it could kill us,” Howard says.
So he has appealed to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and is hoping lawmakers will approve House Bill 219 – a measure to lower the amount of food he must sell to 25% of gross. Senator Dick Saslaw, a Democrat from Northern Virginia, doesn’t think that’s necessary. He points out that under the current law, wine and beer don’t count toward total sales.
“With beer and wine out, the ratio isn’t 55/45 for alcohol. It’s about 80/20," he says. "If you can’t beat that, you are running a pure bar, and I’m just not interested in seeing that here in Virginia.”
Saslaw points to Bourbon Street in New Orleans, warning Virginia that bars are bad, but Todd Howard says customers obviously feel otherwise.
“With all due respect to people who have been around for a lot longer than I have in Virginia, things do change. Things have changed.”
If the state puts Escafe out of business, Howard says, it will lose tax revenue until public demand leads another bar to take its place.