SB1163: Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio, sunset.

Legislative Summary

Alcoholic beverage control; food-to-beverage ratio. Reduces the current 45 percent food-to-beverage ratio for certain mixed beverage licensees. The bill requires a mixed beverage restaurant, caterer's, or limited caterer's licensee with monthly food sales of at least $4,000 to have a food-to-beverage ratio that meets or exceeds 30 percent. The bill also requires that restaurants have at least as many seats at tables as at counters and prohibits mixed beverage licensees from serving mixed beverages once food is no longer being sold for on-premises consumption. The bill sunsets on July 1, 2027, and requires the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority to collect data regarding the compliance of mixed beverage licensees with the provisions of the bill and the impact of the change to the food-to-beverage ratio on the gross amount of food consumed on a licensee's premises. The bill requires the Authority to report such data to the Chairmen of the House Committee on General Laws and the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services by November 1, 2026.