Restaurant bar restrictions urged

Members of a legislative committee expressed interest Wednesday in banning minors from bar areas in restaurants — or at least forcing alcoholic drinks to be mixed out of sight of customers.

The Legislature's Administrative Rules Committee took no action after hearing concerns that restaurant bar areas were going beyond what the law intended. But officials from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control were encouraged to review the rules restaurants must follow to store, prepare and serve alcoholic beverages.

Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, raised the issue, saying restaurant customers are being exposed to what amounts to bars.

"Restaurants are not to be bars. They're to be dining establishments where alcohol is served as an accessory or appendage to a meal," Waddoups said. "That's what clubs and beer bars are for."

He endorsed a suggestion from DABC regulatory director Earl Dorius that lawmakers consider banning minors from the bar areas of restaurants. Dorius said that's already being done in other states.

In Utah, drinkers in restaurants — even those in bar areas — must also be eating food or waiting for a table. The bar areas of restaurants are able to display alcohol and mix drinks in view of customers as long as there is a physical barrier preventing over-the-counter service. That barrier is often just a piece of glass, referred to as a "Zion curtain" because it is unique to Utah.

That's not enough, Waddoups said, calling the setup a "sham." He displayed a picture of a chain restaurant where a wooden barrier was low enough for customers to reach over the counter.

"I'm convinced citizens of this state see this and consider that a bar," Waddoups said, calling the configuration a violation of the intent of the 1991 law allowing restaurants to serve alcohol in bar areas.

Recent court decisions prevent the state from ordering restaurants to stash their alcohol behind closed doors, Dorius told the committee. Dorius also said customers who choose to sit at a counter should be able to have alcohol with their meals.

Both Dorius and DABC Commissioner Mary Ann Mantes said after the meeting they were uncertain what changes could be made to address the concerns.

"I don't know what we can do," Mantes said.

Waddoups, though, said after the meeting something can be done about allowing drinks to be mixed in front of customers. He said moving the drink preparations out of sight would address his concerns. The new Senate leader had said allowing minors to see liquor displayed and dispensed in restaurants would entice them to drink.

Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. has proposed doing away with the so-called "Zion curtains" as well as with membership requirements to private clubs. The Senate's GOP majority opposes eliminating private clubs.

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