Customers taking cocktails to-go in Massachusetts has become a restaurant staple in recent years, harkening back to the COVID-19 pandemic when bars and eateries were looking for ways to prop up their bottom lines.
The policy has been renewed year after year on April 1, but this year, talk of a permanent change is creating friction among businesses and lawmakers on Beacon Hill.
WATCH ANYTIME FOR FREE
 |
Stream NBC10 Boston news for free, 24/7, wherever you are. |
"Restaurants needed any chance they could get to bring in more revenue," said Corby Kummer, executive director of food and society at the Aspen Institute.
Gov. Maura Healey is calling for to-go drinks protocols to be set in stone as the House and Senate remain split on whether that should be tied into a supplemental budget that mainly focuses on migrant shelter funding.
Get updates on what's happening in Boston to your inbox. Sign up for our News Headlines newsletter.
Rob Mellion with the Massachusetts Package Stores Association says this provision has no place in the bill, calling it a rushed approach.
"Let it go through the process, so that if it's done, it's done in a way that works for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," said Mellion.
But restaurant owners contend this is simply common sense.
"We see no reason why liquor stores or packies here in Massachusetts should be concerned about what we're doing in our restaurants and how they're impacting their business," said Nancy Batista Caswell with Mass Restaurants United.
Meanwhile, the clock is ticking for an extension. Restaurant owners have expressed worries that their to-go profits might be temporarily shuttered.
"The minute you start saying no to a guest, or someone who is dining in your restaurant, then they think it's just a no," said Caswell.
NBC10 Boston reached out to Healey's office for comment. Staff told us she will read the final supplemental budget that comes to her desk, but recommitted her desire to make to-go cocktails permanent.
