Brief Summary of Bill

Eliminates two requirements for the issuance of a spirits, beer, and wine theater license.
Eliminates the requirement that a theater be limited to a maximum of four movie screens for a beer, strong beer, and wine license.
Authorizes tasting beer or wine at smaller grocery stores—less than 10,000 square feet—that sell fresh meat, fresh poultry, seafood, or cheese.
Limits these smaller stores to those specialty stores with at least 50 percent of their revenue from the sale of the listed products.

Background: Theater Licenses. Certain theaters are authorized to obtain a license allowing the theater to sell spirits, beer, and wine at retail for on-premise consumption. To be eligible for a spirits, beer, and wine theater license, the theater must:

have no more than 120 seats per screen;
prepare, cook, and serve complete meals; and
provide tabletop accommodations for in-theater dining.

Certain theaters are authorized to obtain a license allowing the theater to sell beer, strong beer, and wine at retail for on-premise consumption. To be eligible for this theater license, the theater may not have more than four movie screens.

If minors are allowed in the theater, the theater must submit an alcohol control plan to the Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) for approval. Any person serving alcohol must have completed a mandatory alcohol server training program. The maximum fines and suspensions for violations involving minors or failure to follow an alcohol control plan are doubled for theaters.

Beer & Wine Tasting Endorsement. The LCB is authorized to issue alcohol licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages at certain grocery stores. A grocery store owner may apply for a license endorsement to offer beer and wine tasting if: (1) the licensee operates a fully enclosed retail area encompassing at least 10,000 square feet; or (2) no licensee in the community meets the square footage requirement and the licensee meets the other operational requirements; and (3) the licensee has not had more than one public safety violation within the past two years.

The beer and wine tasting event at an authorized grocery store is subject to the following conditions: (1) each sample must be two ounces or less, up to a total of four ounces, per customer during any one visit; (2) only one sample of the same product may be provided to a customer during a visit; (3) food must be available for the tasting participants; (4) customers must remain in the service area while consuming samples; and (5) the service area and facilities must be located within the enclosed retail area and the area be in view of the licensee.

Employees of licensees whose duties include serving during tasting activities must hold a Class 12 alcohol server permit.

The annual fee for the endorsement is $200. The LCB must review the fee annually to ensure it sufficiently defrays the LCB's costs.

Summary of Bill: Theater Licenses. The criteria for the issuance of a spirits, beer, and wine theater license are revised by eliminating two requirements: (1) that the theater have no more than 120 seats per screen; and (2) that the theater have tabletop accommodations for in-theater dining.

The theater license authorizing the sale of beer, strong beer, and wine is no longer limited to theaters with up to four screens.

Beer & Wine Tasting Endorsement. The LCB is authorized to issue an endorsement for tasting beer or wine to a grocery store licensee, with a retail area of less than 10,000 square feet, if the store derives at least 50 percent of its revenue from the sale of any combination of fresh meat, fresh poultry, seafood, or cheese. The term fresh has the same meaning as provided by the United States Food and Drug Administration.