THE RULES WILL HELP CHANGE DURING THE PANDEMIC, ALLOW MORE OUTSIDE SERVICE FROM BARS AND RESTAURANTS TO BECOME PERMANENT. BUT ONE BIG CHANGE THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT IS EXPANDING THE NUMBER OF WEEKLY HAPPY HOURS AVAILABLE TO THOSE WITH LIQUOR LICENSES. RIGHT NOW, LIQUOR LICENSE HOLDERS CANNOT RUN MORE THAN 14 HOURS A WEEK OF HAPPY HOURS. THAT WOULD TAKE UP TO 24 HOURS, LEN SIMPLUS, OWNER OF RED BEERS IN MOUNT WASHINGTON AND CENTRAL, SAYS AND ANY CHANGES ARE LONG LATE. RESTAURANTS ARE STILL SUFFERING NOW. IT’S NEVER BEEN BACK TO THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE, SO WE NEED TO TRY TO REINVENT OUR BUSINESSES AND TRY DIFFERENT THINGS TO BRING CUSTOMERS IN. JUST DOWN THE STREET AT SHILOH, GASTRO OPERATING PARTNER EUGENE MANGRUM IS WELL ANTICIPATED FOR HAPPY HOUR INCREASE. I THINK IT’S POSITIVE. I THINK IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AT NIGHT. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE TIME LIMITS ARE. SIENNA MERCATO ON PENN STREET IN THE CULTURAL CITY CENTER DOESN’T HAVE HAPPY HOURS, BUT BAR MANAGER BRETT SANDERS IS INTERESTED IN SOME OF THE OTHER CHANGES. COCKTAILS CAN BE INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF ADMISSION FOR CERTAIN EVENTS AND ALL THESE THINGS. ALSO, INCLUDING THE BEHAVIOR OF SOME OF THE LESSER COVID RESTRICTIONS ALL THE TIME, THEY WILL BE FABULOUS FOR OUR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN ALL THE RESTAURANTS WE VISIT, AS WELL AS OTHERS HAPPY UNDER THE GOVERNMENT RIT. I THINK THIS WILL HELP THE BUSINESS A LOT AND EMPLOYEES WORKING AFTER WORK WILL NOW HAVE MORE TIME TO ENJOY AFTER WORK AND LOSE A HARD LOAD AFTER THE LONG DAY. I THINK IT’S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT WILL ENGAGE A LOT OF PEOPLE AND HELP SUPPORT BUSINESSES. IT WILL BRING MORE FINANCE TO THE OVERALL COMMUNITY. I THINK IT’S A WIN WIN ALON downtown
Changes to Pennsylvania liquor laws, including extended happy hour, await governor’s signature
More happy hours and discounts that bar and restaurant owners will be able to offer are part of changes to Pennsylvania’s liquor laws passed by state lawmakers. believes the changes will definitely increase business.”Now they want to expand happy hour from 14 hours to 24 hours (per week). I personally never understood why it was only 14 hours that you could give an alcohol special because we, as owners, bartenders and servers, are all certified when to shut down a customer and when not to shut down a customer,” Semplice told Action News 4 of Pittsburgh. The changes have been approved by the state House of Representatives and Senate and have been sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. They will go into effect 60 days after he signs the legislation.”I think that’s positive. I think it will give us and the industry as a whole more flexibility to do different things to get guests into the building, and I think that guests can appreciate it, too,” said Eugene Mangrum, operating partner at Shiloh Gastro in Mount Washington. “People aren’t spending as much as they used to, so any discount that can be put in place will help them, I think. be appreciated and would be well received by the community at large.” Customers who spoke to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 agree. “I’m all for it. Anything that helps the tavern owners and the customer. It’s a great idea and it’s good for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Beswick, a restaurant customer at Shiloh Gastro.”I think it’s a great idea. I think it will bring in a lot of people and help support businesses. It will bring more finance to the community. All around, I think it’s a win-win,” Katie Schuett, a customer at Shiloh Gastro. “I think it’s going to be good for the Pittsburgh community to have a chance to get in on these new changes and get out more. There is a great night life here. I think it’s going to give us a chance to enjoy it more,” said Kennedy McKinney, a diner at Sienna Mercato in the downtown Cultural District. “I think it’s going to help a lot of businesses, and also, people who work after work will have more time now to enjoy themselves after work and take a good load off after a long day,” said Torri Sealey, another patron at Sienna Mercato. , “I think these changes will be a good thing for the Pittsburgh area, as it will begin to reach more audiences who may not have the opportunity to come and enjoy happy hour.” pandemic, will be made permanent under the legislation . Brett Sanders, bar manager at Sienna Mercato, likes the change to allow drinks as part of discounted meals and being able to include up to two drinks in event tickets.” don’t do a very long happy hour here in our business to begin with, so I don’t know that the increase in happy hour will really affect us, although I know it will positively affect a lot of businesses around us,” said Sanders. “I had no idea it was even regulated, so it’s a little surprising,” said Ron Baraff, a customer at Shiloh Gastro that’s a good thing.” Mangrum welcomes the increase in happy hours allowed per week.” I think it is positive. I think it gives us the opportunity to do Something maybe later at night I don’t know what the time constraints are,” Mangrum said. Semplice likes all the changes. “Any change will increase business,” Semplice said. ” Restaurants are still suffering now. It never went back to how it was before (the pandemic), so we have to try to reinvent our businesses and try different things to bring in customers.”
More happy hours and discounts that bar and restaurant owners will be able to offer are part of changes to Pennsylvania’s liquor laws passed by state lawmakers.
Len Semplice, owner of Redbeard’s Bar & Grill in Mount Washington and Downtown Pittsburgh, believes the changes will definitely increase business.
“Now they want to expand happy hour from 14 hours to 24 hours (a week). I personally never understood why it was only 14 hours that you could give an alcohol special because we, as owners, bartenders and servers, we’re all certified when to close a customer and when not to close a customer,” Semplice told Action News 4 of Pittsburgh.
The changes have been approved by the state House and Senate and sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. They will take effect 60 days after he signs the legislation.
“I think it’s positive. I think it’s definitely going to give us and the industry as a whole more flexibility to do different things to bring guests into the building, and I think guests can appreciate that as well,” said Eugene Mangrum, operations . partner at Shiloh Gastro in Mount Washington. “People aren’t spending money like they used to, so any discount that can be put in place to help them I think would be appreciated and well received by the community at large.”
Customers who spoke to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 agree.
“I’m all for it. Anything that helps the tavern owners and the customer. It’s a great idea and it’s good for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Beswick, a diner customer at Shiloh Gastro.
“I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s going to bring a lot of people in and help support businesses. It’s going to bring more finances into the community. All in all, I think it’s a win-win,” Katie Schuett, a customer at Shiloh Gastro.
“I think it’s going to be good for the Pittsburgh community to have a chance to get into these new changes and get out more. It’s a great night life here. I think it’s going to give us a chance to enjoy it more,” Kennedy said. McKinney, a restaurant customer at Sienna Mercato in the downtown Cultural District. “I think this will help a lot of businesses, and also, people who work after work will have more time now to enjoy themselves after work and take a good load off after a long day.”
Torri Sealey, another patron at Sienna Mercato, said, “I think these changes are going to be a good thing for the Pittsburgh area because it’s going to start reaching more audiences that might not have the opportunity to come and enjoy happy hour.”
Expanded places to serve alcohol outdoors, approved during the pandemic, will be made permanent under the legislation.
Brett Sanders, bar manager at Sienna Mercato, likes the change to allow drinks as part of discounted meal combos and being able to include up to two drinks in event tickets.
“We don’t have a very long happy hour here in our business to begin with, so I don’t know that increasing happy hour will really affect us, although I know it will positively affect a lot of businesses around us.” , Sanders said.
“I had no idea it was even regulated by law, so it’s a little surprising,” said Ron Baraff, a customer at Shiloh Gastro. “Anything that brings more people in and gets them to spend more money at establishments like this is a good thing.”
Mangrum welcomes the increase in happy hours allowed per week.
“I think it’s a positive. I think it gives us the opportunity to do something maybe later in the night. I don’t know what the time constraints are,” Mangrum said.
Semplice likes all changes.
“Each of the changes will definitely increase business,” Semplice said. “Restaurants are still suffering right now. It never went back to what it was before (the pandemic), so we have to try to reinvent our businesses and try different things to bring in customers.”