THE RULES WILL HELP ADDRESS CHANGES DURING THE PANDEMIC, ALLOWING MORE OUTDOOR SERVING BY BARS AND RESTAURANTS THAT WERE EXPECTED TO BE PERMANENT. BUT ONE BIG CHANGE THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT IS INCREASING THE NUMBER OF HAPPY HOURS PER WEEK AVAILABLE TO THOSE WITH A LIQUOR LICENSE. CURRENTLY, LIQUOR LICENSE HOLDERS CANNOT ACCUMULATE MORE THAN 14 HOURS PER WEEK OF HAPPY HOURS. IT WOULD GO UP TO 24 HOURS, SAYS LEN SIMPLUS, OWNER OF RED BEERS IN MOUNT WASHINGTON AND DOWNTOWN, THAT ALL THE CHANGES HAVE BEEN A LONG TIME COMING. RESTAURANTS ARE STILL SUFFERING RIGHT NOW. IT’S NEVER BEEN THE WAY IT WAS, SO WE HAVE TO TRY TO REINVENT OUR BUSINESSES AND TRY DIFFERENT THINGS TO GRAB CUSTOMERS. JUST DOWN THE STREET AT SHILOH, OPERATING PARTNER GASTRO EUGENE MANGRUM WELCOMES THE INCREASE IN HAPPY HOURS. I THINK IT’S A POSITIVE. I THINK IT GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, MAYBE LATER IN THE NIGHT. I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE RESTRICTIONS ARE AS FAR AS TIMES. SIENNA MERCATO ON PENN AVENUE IN THE CULTURAL DISTRICT DOWNTOWN DOESN’T HAVE EXTENDED HAPPY HOURS, BUT BAR MANAGER BRETT SANDERS IS INTERESTED IN SOME OF THE OTHER CHANGES. BEING ABLE TO INCLUDE COCKTAILS IN THE COVERAGE FOR SOME OF THE EVENTS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. ALSO THE INCLUSIVENESS OF BRINGING SOME OF THE LESS COVID RESTRICTIONS FULL TIME, THESE MEASURES WILL BE GREAT FOR OUR BUSINESS CUSTOMERS IN ALL THE RESTAURANTS WE HAVE VISITED, LIKE HAPPY HOURS AND OTHER CHANGES THAT MAY COME 60 DAYS AFTER THE GOVERNOR SIGNS THIS. I THINK THIS WOULD HELP A LOT OF BUSINESSES AND ALSO WORKERS AFTER WORK WILL HAVE MORE TIME NOW TO HAVE FUN AFTER WORK AND RELAX AFTER A LONG DAY. I THINK THIS IS A GREAT IDEA. I THINK IT WILL BRING A LOT OF PEOPLE IN AND HELP SUPPORT BUSINESSES. It will bring more financial income to the community all around. I think it’s a win-win for everyone in the downtown area.
Changes to Pennsylvania’s liquor laws, including expanded happy hour, await governor’s signature
Updated: 6:36 p.m. ET July 4, 2024
Bar and restaurant owners will be able to offer longer happy hours and discounts, part of changes to Pennsylvania’s alcohol laws that have been approved by state lawmakers. Len Semplice, owner of Redbeard’s Bar & Grill in Mount Washington and downtown Pittsburgh, said the changes will likely increase business. “Now they want to extend happy hour from 2 p.m. to 24 hours (a week). I personally never understood why it was only during the 2 p.m. that you could only offer a special on alcohol because we, as owners, bartenders and servers, are all certified to know when to turn a customer away and when not to,” Semplice told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. The changes have been approved by the state House and Senate and are being sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. The measures would go into effect 60 days after the law is signed. “I think it’s a positive.” I think it will give us and the industry as a whole more flexibility to do different things to bring customers into the building, and I think customers can appreciate that as well,” said Eugene Mangrum, operating partner at Shiloh Gastro in Mount Washington. “People aren’t spending money like they used to, so any discount that can be put in place to help them out, I think, would be appreciated and welcomed by the community at large.” Customers who spoke with Action News 4 of Pittsburgh agreed. “I’m all for it. Anything that helps the tavern owners and the consumer. It’s a great idea, and it’s good for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Beswick, a customer at Shiloh Gastro. “I think it’s a great idea. I think it’ll bring a lot of people in and help support businesses. It’ll bring more money into the community.” Overall, I think it’s a win-win,” said Katie Schuett, a Shiloh Gastro customer. “I think it’s going to be great for the Pittsburgh community to have a chance to embrace these new changes and get out more. It’s a great nightlife here. I think it’s going to give us a chance to enjoy it more,” said Kennedy McKinney, a customer at Sienna Mercato restaurant in the downtown cultural district. “I think it’s going to help a lot of businesses, and also, people who work after work will now have more time to have fun after work and relax after a long day.” Torri Sealey, another Sienna Mercato customer, said, “I think these changes are going to be a good thing for the Pittsburgh area because they’re going to start reaching more audiences that might not have the opportunity to come out and enjoy happy hour.” » The expanded outdoor seating for alcohol, which was approved during the pandemic, will become permanent under the legislation. Brett Sanders, bar manager at Sienna Mercato, likes the change that allows drinks as part of discounted combo meals and allows up to two drinks to be included with event tickets. “We don’t have very long happy hour hours here at our business to begin with, so I don’t know if the expanded happy hour hours are really going to affect us, although I know it will have a positive impact on a lot of businesses around us,” Sanders said. “I had no idea that was even legislated, so it’s a little surprising.” “Anything that brings more people in and gets them to spend more money at establishments like this is a good thing,” said Ron Baraff, a Shiloh Gastro patron. “I think it’s positive. I think it gives us an opportunity to do something maybe later at night. I don’t know what the restrictions are as far as timing,” Mangrum said. Semplice likes all the changes. “Each of the changes is definitely going to increase business,” Semplice said. “Restaurants are still hurting right now. It’s never been like it was before (the pandemic), so we have to try to reinvent our businesses and try different things to attract customers.”
Longer happy hours and discounts that bar and restaurant owners could offer are among changes to Pennsylvania’s alcohol laws that have been approved by state lawmakers.
Len Semplice, owner of Redbeard’s Bar & Grill in Mount Washington and downtown Pittsburgh, says the changes will definitely increase business.
“Now they want to expand happy hour from 2 p.m. to 24 hours (a week). I personally never understood why you could only have a 14-hour alcohol special because we, as owners, bartenders and servers, all know when to turn a customer away and when not to turn a customer away,” Semplice told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
The changes were approved by the state House and Senate and sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for signature. They will take effect 60 days after the law is signed.
“I think it’s a positive. I think it will give us and the industry more flexibility to do different things to bring customers into the building, and I think customers will appreciate that as well,” said Eugene Mangrum, operating partner at Shiloh Gastro in Mount Washington. “People aren’t spending money like they used to, so any discounts that can be put in place to help them, I think, would be appreciated and welcomed by the community at large.”
Customers who spoke with Action News 4 in Pittsburgh agree.
“I’m all for it. Anything that helps the tavern owners and the consumer. It’s a great idea, and it’s good for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Beswick, a customer at Shiloh Gastro.
“I think it’s a great idea. I think it will bring a lot of people in and help support businesses. It will bring more financial resources into the community. Overall, I think it’s a win-win,” said Katie Schuett, a Shiloh Gastro customer.
“I think it’s going to be great for the Pittsburgh community to have a chance to adapt to these new changes and get out more. The nightlife is great here. I think this will give us a chance to enjoy it more,” said Kennedy McKinney, a patron of Sienna Mercato restaurant in the downtown cultural district. “I think it’s going to help a lot of businesses, and also, workers will now have more time to have fun after work and relax after a long day.”
Torri Sealey, another Sienna Mercato customer, said, “I think these changes will be a good thing for the Pittsburgh area because they’re going to start reaching more audiences that might not have the opportunity to come out for happy hour.”
The expansion of outdoor seating for alcohol, which was approved during the pandemic, will become permanent under the legislation.
Brett Sanders, bar manager at Sienna Mercato, appreciates the change that allows drinks to be included in discounted meal deals and allows up to two drinks to be included with event tickets.
“We don’t have very long happy hours at our company to begin with, so I don’t know if increasing happy hours will really impact us, although I know it will have a positive impact on a lot of businesses around us,” Sanders said.
“I had no idea this was regulated by law, so it’s a little surprising,” said Ron Baraff, a Shiloh Gastro customer. “Anything that brings more people in and gets them to spend more money at establishments like this is a good thing.”
Mangrum welcomes the increase in the number of happy hours allowed per week.
“I think it’s positive. I think it gives us an opportunity to do something later in the night. I don’t know what the timing restrictions are,” Mangrum said.
Semplice loves all changes.
“Each of these changes will definitely increase business,” Semplice said. “Restaurants are still hurting right now. Things have never gone back to normal like they were before (the pandemic), so we have to try to reinvent our business and try different things to attract customers.”