R licensees should immediately STOP selling cocktails to-go and serving alcohol in outdoor areas that were temporarily licensed under the Governor’s Emergency Declaration.   

In a previous article that explained new legislation that permitted R licenses to sell mixed drinks to-go, Attorney Daniel Conlon wrote:

Q: HOW LONG CAN A LICENSEE SELL MIXED DRINKS FOR OFF-PREMISES CONSUMPTION AND SELL LIQUOR BOTTLES TO OTHER “R” AND “H” LICENSEES?

A: Until Governor Wolf terminates his March 6, 2020 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, and during the mitigation period after the termination of the disaster emergency in which a licensee is operating at less than sixty per centum (60%) capacity.

Governor Wolf’s Emergency Declaration ended yesterday, June 15, 2021.  Sadly, the Declaration’s termination also marks the end of temporary expanded outdoor premises permits and the legal sale of cocktails to-go.  

A bill in the Pennsylvania Senate (HB 1154) would make cocktails to-go permanent for R licensees throughout the state, however, this bill is stuck in the Senate’s Law and Justice Committee.