SALT LAKE CITY — The customers at Post Office Place have come to expect a certain quality in the craft cocktails that they're served.
"Post Office Place is a semi-finalist for a James Beard Award for outstanding bar," said Jacob Sanders, one of the bartenders.
Sanders is pleased to see a change being introduced in the Utah State Legislature's omnibus alcohol bill making its way through the final week of the legislative session. It would legalize "straw tests." That's where a bartender or mixologist dips a straw into a drink and takes a tiny sip to ensure it's the right portions and ingredients.
Currently, Utah law forbids it.
"I think there is a misconception amongst maybe law enforcement or maybe lawmakers or a DABS compliance officer that these bartenders are trying to get a buzz on or worse," Sanders told FOX 13 News in a recent interview.
'Beehive Development Agency' faces pushback across the political spectrum:
In fact, he said, it would take 400 to 500 straw tests to equal the same amount of alcohol as a Utah-strength drink. The provision added to Senate Bill 328 is viewed as good for hospitality, allowing drinks to be served at a higher quality than just "guessing" right now.
"It’s good for the customer," Sanders said. "The customer gets the product they want."
The bill's sponsor, Sen. Jerry Stevenson, R-Layton, said "that will make some people happy." On Monday, he presented the bill, which also includes raising the "sin tax" on alcohol purchases from cost-plus 88.5% markup to 88.85% markup. The money from the increased tax will pay for inmate education programs. There will also be stricter ID requirements for bars and taverns.
The biggest debate in Monday's hearing before the Senate Revenue & Taxation Committee centered around "proximity." That's how close a liquor licensee can be to a community location like a school, church or park. Utah liquor laws currently draw a hard line in the ground on that.
The strict laws on proximity have been a frustration of restaurants for years, when they find they cannot serve alcohol because they're located too close to a community location, even if a church, school or city is fine with it. The bigger problem is Utah's new "entertainment districts" across the state with major projects in downtown Salt Lake City to include the Utah Hockey Club, the Point of the Mountain development project and others. They're all "mixed use" developments with restaurants and bars designed to be near community spaces.
Under the bill? Local governments can have some wiggle room.
"It gives the locals more control over that. But also with that piece in, then we probably could take out the entertainment district because the locals would have control over that point," Sen. Stevenson told FOX 13 News.
People testified both for and against the proximity idea. Some say it will solve problems, while others warned it could create bigger issues with youth access to alcohol.
The bill won unanimous support from the committee. It now heads to the full Senate for a vote.
