Alcohol Curfew May Be Extended For Some County Restaurants, Bars

ROCKVILLE, MD — Some bars and restaurants in Montgomery County may soon be allowed to serve alcohol past 10 p.m.

The Montgomery County Council will consider extending alcohol-serving hours for establishments at a virtual meeting on Thursday.

Currently, county bars and restaurants must stop serving alcohol to patrons on-site at 10 p.m. It's a ban that county officials say limits late-night socializing and, ultimately, helps stem the spread of COVID-19.

But under the latest proposal, certain bars and restaurants could apply for a Late-Night Alcohol Sales Program permit, which would allow them to serve alcohol between 10 p.m. and midnight.

Here's what else to know about the program:

• The permit is available to a food service establishment with no prior history of citations or closings due to coronavirus-related violations
• The food service establishment must designate a staff member/hire a contractor to monitor and enforce face covering and social distancing requirements
• The food service establishment cannot sell alcohol after 12 a.m., and will ensure that all alcoholic beverages are collected from patrons by then
• A food service establishment that violates the rules would lose their Late-Night Alcohol Sales Program permit, have its alcohol license suspended, and/or could be fined up to $20,000
• The program will be automatically suspended under certain circumstances, including related to the positivity rate and/or number of COVID-19 cases

Businesses that receive a Late-Night Alcohol Sales Program permit will be subject to frequent and unscheduled inspections, according to the proposal.

"We expect that the vast, vast majority of businesses that apply for this program will do exactly what they're supposed to do," Dr. Earl Stoddard, the county's head of emergency management, said. "But we do expect that there will be potential for some businesses to miss the mark. And we want to make sure we have a significant enough consequence for us to be able to remove them from this program very quickly if we find that there are a handful of restaurants that are unable to meet the standards."