From Deseret News archives:

Controlling Utah liquor laws

LDS culture is the driving force behind state rules

By Josh Loftin
Deseret News staff writer

Published: Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 12:02 a.m. MST

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That law has failed, as evidenced by the number of club owners driving Cadillacs, Dorius said. Not that the clubs make any money on alcohol sales; instead, they make money on the nonalcoholic mixers, ice or glasses, as well as the rent paid to the management company that is usually run by the same people who manage the nonprofit club.

"Basically, you drain the profits from the nonprofit," Dorius said. "(The private-club law) doesn't make any sense."

Members only

No other state has a private-club system comparable to Utah, although many other states have private clubs. Texas, for example, allows drinking in dry counties at private clubs, and Iowa allows gambling in private clubs. However, those are actually private, formed by exclusive groups such as the Elks or Eagles. To form a private club in other states usually requires a group with a common goal besides drinking. They are nonprofits, and the attractions usually include cheap liquor prices because state taxes are avoided. Members of Texas clubs, in fact, can buy their bar liquor, mixers and barware as a group instead of paying for each drink separately.

"This is the one area where we appear to be different," Dorius said. "Other states have (private clubs), but they're for different purposes."

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According to Utah law, any place that serves mixed drinks without food must be a private club. Any person who wants a drink either has to purchase an annual membership of at least $12 or a two-week membership that costs $5. A person can also be sponsored by a member who they supposedly know, although that caveat if often ignored by clubs and members.

The law can intimidate visitors, although DABC Director Kenneth Wynn said that if servers would simply explain the law instead of complain about it, it would save them time and not sour people about Utah.

"The servers are the worst public relations," he said.

Navigating the law

Not that Utah is an oddity among neighboring states. Liquor laws are a diverse bunch in the West, where alcohol control ranges from the wide-open atmosphere of Nevada to the dry counties in Idaho and Arizona. Both Idaho and Colorado prohibit liquor-store sales on Sunday, and Idaho also closes its bars on election days. Beer sold in Colorado grocery stores cannot be more than 3.2 percent alcohol by weight, while Wyoming, despite its liberal reputation, makes grocery stores sell all alcohol from a separate liquor-store area.

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