ALBANY — Up until last year, the Tipsy Moose Tap & Tavern was selling bottles of housemade booze. It was a hit.
Unbeknownst to co-owners Brendan Brader and Rob Tario, that’s illegal — and as such, they were reprimanded by state regulators. That’s when Tario showed up at then-Assemblymember Patricia Fahy’s office in Albany looking for help.
“It was a bit complex for me,” Tario said. “So that being said, I came to her with hopes to change the law and improve this situation so that we'd be able to have our brand go to somebody's house, be able to market better, be able to [add] revenue for the restaurants and partner up with the local distillery.”
Fahy, now a state senator, has a new bill that would allow restaurant owners to sell bottles of private-label alcohol products made in-house for off-site consumption.
Pushing to strike down old Alcoholic Beverage Control laws has been a focus of the Albany Democrat over the greater half of her tenure in the state Legislature. For long, she pushed to bring alcohol into movie theaters, which didn’t transpire until an executive order was signed.
Just last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a long-fought bill originally from Fahy allowing craft cideries and distilleries to send booze directly to consumers. That took about seven years to pass.
“We're playing a little catch up with the liquor laws,” Fahy said. “But I'm going to be my blunt self: this is not going to be a bill that will fly through. We are going to have to work this very hard because of opposition.”
So far, the Metropolitan Package Store Association is opposed to the measure. That organization represents 3,500 liquor store retailers statewide.
Metropolitan Package Store Association Executive Director Michael Correra fears that the move would put liquor stores out of business due to the competition.
“I might as well just close up my doors, put up a ‘for rent’ sign, and I promise you, most legislators and then consumers do not want to see another 4,000 empty storefronts,” Correra said.
Correra also worries that restaurants aren’t an appropriate place to sell liquor. He said that the current regulations are paramount to keep consumers safe and not encourage them to drink more booze.
Tario said that was never a problem.
“It wasn't jeopardizing anything,” he said. “It wasn't putting anybody in danger.”
Fahy said that she intends to keep the scope of the bill “limited” in nature in order to win over lawmakers.
As regulated, sales could not exceed 75,000 gallons per year. Additionally, each beverage must be produced in New York by a licensed distiller.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or tmcneil@dailygazette.net. Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or X @TylerAMcNeil.
