Governor Cuomo Issues Executive Order Requiring On-Premises Licensees Serve Food With Alcoholic Beverages

Governor Cuomo released Executive Order 202.52 tonight. You can find the Executive Order here.

The Executive Order requires on-premises alcoholic beverage licensees to only serve alcoholic beverages, for consumption on or off-premise, if the beverage is accompanied by the purchase of a food item for each customer consuming alcohol.

The State Liquor Authority has issued guidance, which can be found here, in conjunction with the Executive Order. The guidance clarifies that one or more shareable food item(s) may be purchased, so long as it/they would sufficiently serve the number of people in the party and each item would individually meet the food standard. For on-premises retailers, including restaurants and taverns, the food standard is sandwiches, soups or other foods, whether fresh, processed, precooked or frozen.

We’re awaiting additional clarifications from the Liquor Authority and will post more info here once we do.