New law will hurt NC bars like mine with little benefit to public health | Opinion

The author is co-owner of Remedy Room, a bar in downtown Durham:

North Carolina lawmakers recently changed the health department requirements for bars that serve food, a move that harms small businesses still struggling from the pandemic, does very little to improve public health, and diverts much needed funding from other more pressing challenges.

For decades, bars have had the right to serve food without regulatory oversight of the NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS), and they have done so without creating a public health crisis. The new law—consisting of a few paragraphs slipped into the 24-page HB 125 just days before it was voted on—eliminates that right and requires bars to rebuild their kitchens to meet current regulatory standards. For many bars, such as ours, this will cost approximately $50,000 or more and require us to lay off our staff while we close for a month to complete construction. The economic impact is so detrimental, we will likely choose to close our business for good.

If the law were going to prevent thousands of preventable deaths, then the economic damage caused by HB 125 would be understandable and even welcome. But the reality is, foodborne illnesses rarely cause serious harm. According to the CDC, fewer than two in 1,000 foodborne illnesses result in hospitalization, and just six in 100,000 results in death. A citizen of North Carolina is four times more likely to die of drowning than food poisoning.

While very few foodborne illnesses result in serious harm, fewer still can be attributed to private bars. The CDC estimates that more than half (54%) of foodborne illnesses come from places other than restaurants and bars, such as at church gatherings, picnics, or at home. Depending on the source, 20-40% of deaths from foodborne illnesses occur in children aged five and under, people who never set foot in a private bar. The age group most likely to eat at a private bar—those aged 21-50—represent just 3% of deaths from foodborne illness, or in the case of North Carolina, fewer than three per year.

What will this new law cost taxpayers? The NCDHHS hasn’t provided numbers, but we can make a conservative estimate. There are nearly 2,000 private bars in North Carolina. If NCDHHS hires just 25 additional staff to inspect, monitor, and regulate these businesses at an annual salary of $60,000, it will cost $1.5 million each year. North Carolina faces budget shortfalls in many critical areas, including public education, mental health services, and substance abuse counseling and rehabilitation. While $1.5 million won’t solve all these problems, every dollar counts and should be allocated to programs according to the net benefit they provide the citizens of North Carolina. As tragic as they may be, when compared to our state’s other needs, spending $1.5 million to prevent fewer than three deaths per year is an egregious misallocation of resources.

The good news is our state representatives can and should amend the law to reverse this decision. At the very least, before this law inflicts serious damage to small businesses across the state, they should grandfather in bars that have operated for decades without causing significant harm to public health.

This story was originally published December 28, 2023 at 8:43 AM.