After nearly three decades devoid of after-work drink specials, a push to legalize happy hour in Rhode Island is brewing again.
Rep. Karen Alzate, D-Pawtucket, recently submitted legislation that would let restaurants and bars offer happy hour drink specials as long as they are coupled with food. Meanwhile, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, included legalizing happy hour as part of a state economic development plan released by his campaign.
Efforts to overturn or amend the 1985 law banning happy hours, two-for-one deals or any kind of alcoholic drink specials have bubbled up before. But with the hospitality industry suffering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, advocates say it’s time to revisit the prohibition.
“Rhode Island is one of few states in the country that does not allow restaurants to market after-work drink specials,” Magaziner said. “It’s an outdated regulation that puts our small businesses at a disadvantage compared to other states.”
The Ocean State is one of several states to ban happy hour deals. Neighboring Massachusetts is one of them, though that could change in this year’s election with efforts to put the issue before voters as a ballot question.
The idea is not without critics, who fear drink specials will lead to raucous and unruly crowds and even worse, dangers such as driving under the influence.
But local restaurant and bar owners say there are ways to avoid, or at least minimize, those drunken downsides, and that the benefits outweigh the problems.
“It doesn’t have to be the same thing that it was before,” said restaurateur Armando Bisceglia, owner of Bonanno and Bacco Vino & Contorni, both on Federal Hill in Providence.
Instead of hoards of booze-fueled college students, Bisceglia envisions a more sophisticated environment where young professionals cap off a day at the office with a glass of wine and a cheese spread at his restaurant or wine bar.
To that end, Rick Simone, who represents small businesses as executive director of both the Federal Hill Commerce Association and the Ocean State Coalition, said he’d like to see the “happy hour” name done away with, replaced with something more fitting for a multihour offering of both food and drink specials.
What else to call it, Simone was unsure. He stressed the importance of flexibility as the proposal makes its way through the legislature.
How many lawmakers will back the measure is unclear. Sen. Joshua Miller, D-Providence, who also owns Trinity Brewhouse in Providence, didn’t rank the idea high on his to-do list.
Much more urgent, in Miller’s mind, were relief programs for small businesses to help with payroll and staffing challenges. Those businesses no longer have the cushion from the now-ended Paycheck Protection Program, he said.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi and Senate President Dominick J. Ruggerio in a joint statement did not say whether they supported the idea but only that any legislation will be considered in the “normal, public committee review process.”
Even getting the idea into the form of legislation was a good start, according to Bisceglia.
“I think at this point in the restaurant industry, we really need to consider everything we can to succeed and survive,” he said. “Just starting to think about this is an opportunity.”
Nancy Lavin is a PBN staff writer. Contact her at Lavin@PBN.com.
Of course this should be allowed.
The Nanny State pushed this law in 1985 and it has been nothing but nothing but hurtful to small business restaurants.