Is your business a bar or a restaurant, and does it matter? As an initial matter, “bars” and “nightclubs” in Florida are generally closed while “restaurants” are permitted to operate under the most-current emergency order issued by Secretary Beshears at the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. This article will touch on the current state of play for both types of businesses and suggest a potential solution for those excluded from the state’s reopening progress at the moment.

Emergency order 2020-09 requires “vendors licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, but not licensed to offer food service” to suspend the sale and service of alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises. However, the order allows “vendors licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises [and] licensed to offer food service” to continue to operate as restaurants in accordance with Executive Orders 20-68, 20-71, 20-112 and 20-139, subject to the following restrictions:

• Indoor capacity limited to 50% of seating occupancy, excluding employees;

• Food and beverages served for on-premises consumption to customers seated at tables or bar counters with appropriate social distancing; and

• Employees screened in accordance with the criteria set forth in Executive Order 20-68, Section 3(C).

In this context, the difference between a bar (closed), nightclub (also closed), and restaurant (open) may only be the issuance of a public food service establishment license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants. Some bars are pursuing a food service license and incorporating streamlined (but compliant) kitchen operations in order to open their doors. This is a way to move from being a closed bar to an operating food service establishment, and it smartly anticipates that future reopening orders will continue to distinguish between restaurants and bars.

Emergency order 2020-09 can be viewed below or downloaded from the state here. Click here to view the firm’s most-recent updates on the regulatory response affecting hotels, restaurants, bars, resorts, and the alcoholic beverage industry. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation’s frequently-updated resource page is available here. Contact the firm if you have any questions about maintaining compliance with the state’s directives, including those related pivoting to a public food service establishment.

Please note that this page is made available by the law firm for educational purposes only, and that it is not intended to provide specific legal advice. Visiting this page does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and the firm.