AL: With cities’ permission, sidewalk alcohol sales OK

DecaturDaily

By Mary Sell Montgomery Bureau

October 5, 2016

MONTGOMERY — Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board officials say recent enforcement of laws regarding restaurants’ sidewalk seating and alcohol isn’t new.

But as long as the businesses have agreements with their cities, they can keep having happy hour outside.

A Decatur official said ABC’s enforcement of the laws should cause no problems for downtown events such as 3rd Friday.

“You can’t just throw out a table on a public sidewalk,” ABC spokesman Dean Argo said Tuesday. “You can’t serve alcohol on someone else’s property.

“… The city can grant you that permission, and if they do, we’re perfectly fine with that.”

The concern about serving in a public right of way is liability, Argo said. It’s harder to monitor outside who is doing the drinking, including those who may be underage or overserved.

There was a recent issue in Mobile where alcohol was being served in public rights of way without the city’s permission, Argo said.

“We’re not stepping up enforcement, but we are making sure there is enforcement,” he said.

Wally Terry, director of development for the city of Decatur, said the city met with ABC before it allowed outdoor dining on sidewalks.

“We have an agreement with the restaurants that have a sidewalk café,” he said.

Part of the understanding is the seating area will be defined with a barrier.

“In essence, the entrance (to that area) becomes their front door,” he said. “They monitor the area to know who they’re serving.”

Decatur also has an entertainment district where people can carry adult beverages, but restaurants still need special permission to serve alcohol outdoors, Terry said.

Terry said ABC’s enforcement of the law on sidewalk seating should not affect any planned Decatur events.

“It has no impact on 3rd Friday, as long as we’re not doing a special event to sell beer in the rights of way, which typically is not something we do,” Terry said.

The last 3rd Friday of the year is set for Oct. 21.

“If somebody wanted to come in and have a beer garden in a parking lot or on a road, an event where alcohol is being sold, we might need to enter into a special agreement,” Terry said. “I think we could still do it, but we might need a special agreement and we might need to rope off the area.”

The ABC Board now has 16 civilian licensing and compliance specialists around the state, Argo said. Prior to the consolidation of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, ABC had about 108 compliance officers, he said. Those officers now work for ALEA. The new compliance officers do not have authority to arrest, but can write citations.