Maine Legislature sends cocktails-to-go extension to Mills' desk

Courtesy / Maine Lodging & Restaurant Expo Facebook If pending legislation is signed by Gov. Janet Mills, Maine restaurants and bars will be allowed to sell cocktails to-go for three more years.

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By Staff

Maine restaurants and bars may be allowed to sell cocktails to-go for another three years, pending legislation now headed to Gov. Janet Mills for a possible signature.

The Maine Legislature on Wednesday passed a bill to extend the current measure to March 30, 2025, after temporary permission was granted in response to the pandemic. Without the extension, the alcohol allowance will end in September.

The extension was introduced in January by state Sen. Louis Luchini, D-Ellsworth. The original bill, LD 1751, would have permanently allowed bars, restaurants and distilleries to sell alcoholic drinks for off-premises consumption.

“Maine’s hospitality industry has faced tremendous challenges these past two years, yet business owners and employees have adapted to keep their doors open while safely serving customers,” Luchini said at the time. “One big part of this has been allowing the sale of alcohol to-go.”

Over the past year, Luchini said he’s heard from dozens of owners of bars, restaurant and craft beverage businesses, adding that the provision has helped keep them afloat.

Jay Hibbard, a spokesman with the Distilled Spirits Council, a trade association based in Washington, D.C., said the measure would provide restaurants a stable source of revenue as they work to recover from the pandemic.

In 2020, more than 35 states issued executive orders or temporary measures allowing restaurants and bars to sell cocktails to-go. Since then, 18 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation to make those provisions permanent, and 14 other states passed legislation to allow cocktails to-go on a temporary basis.