Still want cocktails to-go in North Carolina? There’s an order for that.
Want cocktails to-go? Restaurants and bars will be still be allowed to sell mixed drinks for takeout or delivery for the next month.
In addition to increasing the size of social gatherings for May, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has also extended an executive order on mixed drinks to June 1.
The latest order lets the North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission issue business permits for delivery or take-out of mixed beverages for customers who don’t consume them on-site. Cooper already had extended the order previously. The permits include restaurants, private bars, private clubs, hotels and some distilleries.
The governor just relaxed more restrictions this week and told reporters he expects to lift nearly all on June 1, except for the indoor mask mandate.
“While North Carolina is getting closer to putting this pandemic in our rearview mirror, we know many of our restaurants and bars are still struggling financially, and this will help boost their revenue,” Cooper said in a statement with the announcement.
Cooper, a Democrat, has been criticized by Republicans and some bar owners for coronavirus-related restrictions over the past 13 months. They have been loosened this spring as the state’s vaccinations are well underway.
However some still remain in place: Restaurants, breweries, wineries and distilleries can be open at 100% capacity outdoors with social distancing, but at 75% capacity indoors. For private bars and clubs, they are limited to 50% capacity both inside and outside.
For more North Carolina government and politics news, listen to the Under the Dome politics podcast from The News & Observer and the NC Insider. You can find it on Pandora, Spotify. Apple Podcasts. Stitcher. iHeartRadio. Amazon Music, Megaphone or wherever you get your podcasts.
This story was originally published April 29, 2021 at 5:05 PM with the headline "Still want cocktails to-go in North Carolina? There’s an order for that.."