Is the New Cocktail-To-Go Allowance Helping Bar Owners?
Photo by Jade Wilson
Alcohol can be a touchy subject in North Carolina politics. The pandemic has demonstrated how little bargaining power bars have in the state, and just how much power the ABC Commission has. Well-loved bars like the Criterion in Durham have closed for good, while others are hanging on by a thread.Â
Shortly before Christmas, Governor Roy Cooper signed an executive order permitting bars to serve go-to cocktails beginning at 5 p.m. on December 21. The orderâwhich bar owners have been lobbying for since Marchâwas a bone to an emaciated industry. It was also designed to be short: The order expires on January 31. For bar and restaurant owners, the news, which arrived hours before the order went into effect, left them scrambling to prepare.Â