This article was originally published in The Pennsylvania Observer / Pennsylvania Beverage Media in November 2024. A pdf version can be found here.
Legally, restaurant licensees cannot stop serving food while they are conducting sales of alcoholic beverages. A licensee may reduce its menu selections or close the kitchen later in the evening, but they must still offer food that would constitute a meal even if it is just a ham sandwich. If a licensee serves alcoholic beverages up to 2 am, they can close the kitchen, but must have food on hand to serve to patrons up to 2 am.
The Pennsylvania Liquor Code mandates that in order to qualify for a restaurant liquor license, you must be a bona fide restaurant serving food. A restaurant is defined by the Pennsylvania Liquor Code, in part, to mean “a reputable place operated by responsible persons of good reputation and habitually and principally used for the purpose of providing food for the public.”
Regardless of whether a licensee is a full service restaurant or a corner bar, they are considered to be a restaurant first and a provider of alcoholic beverages second. Therefore, licensees must have food available at all times that they are open to the public. If an undercover Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement Officer comes in at 1 am and requests food, you must have food available or a citation will be issued against the liquor license.
How much food you must offer is a more difficult question to answer. The law states that the establishment must have an adequate supply of food and sufficient facilities for its storage, preparation, and service. The liquor code requires a restaurant licensee to accommodate 30 patrons at one time. Therefore, you must have food available to feed 30 people, along with the accompanying utensils (at least 30 plates, knives, forks, and spoons) to serve the food. However, does this mean that a licensee can just keep thirty hot dogs and rolls in the kitchen and nothing else? They probably would barely comply. The amount and type of food offered by a restaurant licensee depends on the circumstances, and the sufficiency of the food offered will be determined on a case-by-case basis. Licensees must be able to offer food that will constitute a meal.
Be safe, use common sense, and maintain a sufficient supply of food of various types (for example, soups and sandwiches, and so on) to feed at least 30 people at any given time. Do not allow the restaurant to run out of food at any time. If you do not have food on hand to feed the 30 patrons, sales of alcoholic beverages must cease.
Maintaining an adequate amount of food sufficient to feed 30 patrons and having that food available at all times is a fundamental requirement of the License Code for a restaurant licensee to continue to qualify to hold the retail restaurant liquor license.
Licensees should consult with their attorney about the basic legal requirements to maintain their licenses, whether they possess a restaurant liquor license or another license issued by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
