Illinoisans can now get their favorite cocktails to go.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation that allows bars and restaurants to sell cocktails for pickup and delivery, but it may not be enough to save ailing establishments hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and Pritzker’s stay-at-home order, which closed restaurant dining rooms and bars across the state in mid-March.
Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said the new law was a step in the right direction, but it may be too late for some.
“We started the year with 25,000 restaurants in Illinois,” he said. “Twenty percent probably will not survive, so it that’s the case, we will lose 5,000 restaurants throughout the state of Illinois.”
The law allows cocktails to be delivered in a sealed, labeled container with a tamper-evident cap or seal by an employee of the liquor license holder. Cocktails may not be delivered via a third party delivery app.
Toia said the shutdown has been difficult for many establishments because they make a majority of their profits at the bar.
“In the restaurant industry, 95 cents of every dollar that comes in goes out to labor costs, product costs and fixed costs, and there is a bigger profit margin in spirits and alcohol than there is in food,” he said.
The new law also delays late fees and license fees for liquor licenses for businesses and establishes automatic license renewal approval and extension for any license holder whose business has been suspended in any capacity because of the COVID-19 shutdown.
