Restaurant aid bills win House approval in Pennsylvania by Christen Smith, The Center Square | April 06, 2021 03:00 PM Print this article
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously approved two bills Monday that eased some of the state’s liquor rules in effort to aid current and former establishments impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
House Bill 425 allows former owners to sell their remaining wine and liquor stock to another license holder. House Bill 427 increases the 10% discount bars and restaurants receive when buying from the state-run liquor stores to 15% for three years.
Rep. Matt Dowling, R-Uniontown, said his HB 425 provides some relief after last year’s “heavy toll” on bars and restaurants. Three in 10 Pennsylvania businesses shut down, at least temporarily, in 2020 as a result of Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic restrictions. Federal labor statistics show the hospitality sector likewise shed up to 30% of its workforc
Restaurant aid bills win House approval in Pennsylvania
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Pennsylvania House passes 2 bills aiding taverns, restaurants - Philadelphia Business Journal
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Central Pa. restaurants ‘see a future ahead’ as COVID restrictions loosen today
Updated Apr 04, 2021;
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For the first time in more than a year, George Lois is seeing familiar faces.
Regular diners are returning to his Gilligan’s Bar & Grill restaurants in Lower Paxton, Swatara and Hampden townships.
“It was nice to see them. Finally, after they get the vaccines two weeks later they had the courage to come out and have a meal,” he said.
“I see a future ahead. I think we are going to be OK. We learn to live with it,” he added.
As COVID-19 mitigation restrictions loosen for Pennsylvania’s restaurant industry starting April 4, owners like Lois are optimistic they will see an uptick in diners pulling up bar chairs and sitting at tables and booths in the coming weeks. They say pent-up demand, additional stimulus money and administration of more vaccines is fueling confidence among diners.
Michelle Hogan is looking forward to replacing the cardboard âpeepsâ at her Kingston bar with real people.
For the past several months, the seats at Hoganâs establishment Keeleyâs Alehouse and Grill have been occupied 24/7 by the same group of regulars: a cast of cardboard cutouts known as Seat Peeps.
âWe say they are nice looking, but are bad tippers,â Hogan joked Monday.
The Seat Peeps will be replaced with real people starting April 4 following Gov. Tom Wolfâs announcement on Monday that patrons can once again sit at the bar to have drinks and patrons no longer are required to order food to purchase alcohol. Bars, which currently must stop alcohol service at 11 p.m., can resume regular hours and increase seating capacity to 75%, the governor said.