Snacks are not enough to get around the new SLA guidelines
Snacks like potato chips, popcorn, and nuts don’t meet the new food requirements that Governor Andrew Cuomo established for bars and restaurants last week, according to updated language from the State Liquor Authority, which was released Tuesday by the night. The state agency now says the bars are responsible for ensuring “that customers enjoy a sitting experience” with enough food to be shared by a small group. The New York Post first reported on the updated guidelines.
Like Governor Cuomo’s regulations on takeaway cocktails, the SLA specifies that bars must now serve foods that are “similar in quality and substance to sandwiches and soups.” Salads, wings, hot dogs, and other foods meet the criteria in the new guidelines, whether fresh, processed, precooked, or frozen. In particular, the guidelines add that enough food must be purchased to “serve enough to the number of people at the party.” You don’t need to buy food with each round of drinks, says the SLA, but you should order enough food with the first round. The goal, according to the guidelines, is for customers to have “a culinary experience sitting in a small group with drinks … a meal, and not a bar-type experience.”
Governor Cuomo announced the first part of this new set of rules last week, as part of his ongoing effort to have New York bars and restaurants enforce compliance with social distancing and take-away alcohol regulations. The new guidelines, which also put in place a controversial “three attacks” system, came immediately after hundreds of complaints in recent weeks to the city about violators of social alienation.
In other news
– A coalition of 25 Bed-Stuy-based restaurateurs is calling for rent and utility relief from the federal and state government, as well as a permanent reduction in third-party delivery rates from 30 to 20 percent. Profits for some restaurants in the neighborhood have dropped 60-80 percent, according to a group spokesperson.
– Two new restaurants join the growing list of Michelin-starred restaurants open for al fresco dining. Chef Hiroki Odo today reopened the One-Star Odo for outdoor seating in Flatiron, while chef Emma Bengtsson’s two-star Midvit restaurant Aquavit reopens this Friday, July 24.
– Dinner at Casa Nomad this Saturday will be accompanied by live Afro-Cuban Latin music starting at 5 p.m., an effort by chef and owner Yvan Lemoine to liven up the neighborhood after many of the neighboring businesses on Broadway have closed.
– Gramercy Park’s trendy Indian restaurant, Gupshup, has teamed up with neighboring café and ice cream parlor Caffe Panna in a decadent new dessert, made from caramel, ice cream, cookies, and rum. Gupshup will augment the mix with an additional shot of espresso, chai, or rum upon request.
– Kyle Knall, the chef responsible for cooking “destination-worthy” foods at the Equinox Hotel’s Electric Lemon restaurant, shared that he will be leaving New York City after 12 years.
– The Hudson Square Business Improvement District has established parklets, essentially furnished parking spaces, so restaurants in the neighborhood can accommodate more customers.
– A second location for the popular East Harlem bakery, Baked Cravings, is underway for East Village, according to company CEO Craig Wilson.
– Is there a place for dance floors in New York after COVID-19?
– Wait:
