AMHERST — For the first time, patrons at Amherst restaurants that don’t serve alcohol could have the option to bring their own wine or beer to consume while dining.
The Board of License Commissioners unanimously adopted “bring your own bottle,” or BYOB regulations Monday. The regulations let restaurants that have common victuallers licenses, or food permits, but lack liquor licenses to give their customers the opportunity to drink their own alcoholic beverages.
Steven McCarthy, the licensing coordinator for the town, said the regulations, approved by a 4-0 vote, go into effect immediately.
The board didn’t take up whether restaurants with liquor licenses should be allowed to begin alcohol service at 10 a.m. on Sundays, which requires acceptance of a state law, McCarthy said.
According to the new BYOB regulations, their purpose “is to allow patrons to bring alcoholic beverages into an establishment holding a common victualler license for their personal consumption.” The measure says it “promotes the responsible use of alcohol by adults and protects the health and safety of the inhabitants of the town of Amherst.”
Before any establishment can have patrons bringing their own alcohol, though, they must be designated as BYOB, which can happen through the common victualler application process or by contacting the licensing authority. Bars and other places that have an alcohol license will not be allowed to participate.
For customers, there will be limits of 750 milliliters of wine for every two members of a party, and no more than 36 flowing ounces of malt beverage for each member of a party.
Although the town has never had formal rules in place, which are guided by state law, some Amherst businesses have occasionally made attempts to become BYOB establishments, including Pruddy’s Latin American Restaurant in the late 1990s. In that case, Pruddy’s lost its liquor license but tried to stay in business by encouraging customers to bring their own booze.
Before that, the last openly BYOB restaurant in Amherst was Restaurant on the Green, which was heavily damaged in a fire in December 1969.
The regulations set a number of other rules, including that alcohol can only be consumed between noon and 11 p.m.; that patrons must be seated at a table or counter and must order food; that the alcohol must be unopened when entering the restaurant; and, that hard liquor and cordials are prohibited. The regulations also mandate that a restaurant cannot charge for providing glasses to pour the beverages into, that its employees can’t handle the alcohol except to dispose of it, and that customers can’t be allowed to leave with an open container.
The measure provides for civil fines between $100 and $300 for violations, though the fines would first have to be adopted by the Town Council.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
