New Jersey restaurants and bars will be able to continue selling cocktails to-go permanently after Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed legislation Friday making the pandemic-era policy part of state law.
The new law, signed Aug. 28, allows eligible businesses to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption away from their licensed premises. The change makes permanent a temporary measure introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic that had been scheduled to expire Sept. 1.
Under the law, restaurants, bars, hotels and certain other eligible license holders can sell alcoholic drinks in original containers or in closed and sealed containers for off-premises consumption. Mixed drinks must be sold in closed, sealed containers, with additional requirements designed to prevent tampering.
The legislation also permits eligible businesses to deliver certain alcoholic beverages directly to customers who are at least 21 years old and live in New Jersey. For mixed drinks, the law sets a maximum container capacity of 16 fluid ounces and requires a tamper-evident seal.
The permanent policy follows several years of temporary rules that allowed businesses to offer off-premises alcohol during a period when traditional restaurant and bar operations were heavily restricted.
Sherrill said the change gives New Jersey’s small businesses another way to serve customers and generate revenue without relying solely on on-premises sales.
For restaurants and bars dealing with higher operating costs, the ability to sell prepared drinks for customers to take home could provide an additional source of income.
The law is the result of Senate Bill 4384, which passed both chambers of the New Jersey Legislature in June. The legislation was sponsored by state Sen. Vin Gopal and Sen. Declan J. O’Scanlon Jr., along with Assembly sponsors including Luanne M. Peterpaul and Rosaura Bagolie.
The final version also clarifies which types of alcohol license holders can take advantage of the expanded privileges. The measure specifically covers plenary retail consumption license holders, including eligible hotel and motel establishments and seasonal retail consumption license holders.
For customers, the change means the option to order a cocktail from an eligible establishment and take it home is no longer tied to an emergency-era temporary rule.
New Jersey now joins a growing group of states that have kept some form of alcohol-to-go rules after the pandemic, giving restaurants and bars another option for serving customers while maintaining requirements for sealed containers and age-restricted delivery.
