I was reading a Virginian Pilot article the other day about the happy hour rules. Were you aware that ABC laws in Virginia prohibit the advertising of happy hour? Back in the day, I spent some time in Atlanta and happy hour was, well, happy. I mean, none of this two-for-one stuff. Those folks had 3-1 and it was advertised everywhere.
Take a look at the rules:
The guidelines
Happy hour may not be conducted during the hours of 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. each day. Happy hour is defined as a specified period of time during which alcoholic beverages are sold at prices reduced from the customary price established by you.The following practices are prohibited:
– A person may not possess more than two drinks at any one time during a happy hour. A drink is defined as any beverage containing the amount of alcoholic beverages customarily served to a person as a single serving.
– The volume of alcoholic beverages contained in a drink may not be increased at any time without increasing proportionately the customary or established retail price charged for such drink.
– Two or more drinks may not be sold for one price, such as “two for one” or “three for one” at any time.
– Mixed Beverages may never be sold in pitchers
– Drinks may never be given away
– An unlimited number of drinks may not be sold for one price, such as “all you can drink for $5.00” at any time. Packaged deals (i.e. New Year’s Eve gatherings, etc) must specify a limited number of drinks.
– Happy hour may not be advertised in the media or on the exterior of the licensed premises.
– These rules shall not apply to prearranged private parties, functions, or events, not open to the public, where the guests thereof are served in a room or rooms designated and used exclusively for private parties, functions or events.
So what do you think? Are VA’s happy hour rules too strict? Or are they just right?
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian, I’m curous as to why you haven’t posted aanything on Barack’s victory. It is truly historic and should be acknowledged by a premier Black blogger like yourself. Personally, I’m a Black female Republican who will vote for McCain. But, Barack’s success is admirable and ground breaking. If he wins the gen election, he will surely put at the race baiter out of business. the argument that Blacks can not succeed in this country would be less persuasive. Come on …put away your Hillary bias and congratulate Barack. He is deserving just like Condi and iowell are, regardless of political affiliation.
OK — my mistake. I just did not recall your arguing for removal of the restrictions on other lenders, so I made an erroneous assumption that you wanted such restrictions to continue.
TV – I can understand your concern about drinking habits but your argument regarding 2:1 vs 1/2 price just doesn’t make sense to me.
Anonymous – first, it does indeed appear that the use of that word gets you relegated to my spam filter. My apologies – I don’t know what’s going on with it. Second, that moniker is already taken here 🙂 And third, this ain’t the thread to talk about Obama or Hillary. We’re talking about drinking here 😉
Mouse – I won’t argue for the removal of the restrictions, because I’m a realist – that will never happen 🙂 What I will say is that what’s good for the goose, is good for the other goose. Since VA has seen fit to have usury laws on the books, they should apply across the board. Oh – and this thread isn’t about payday lending, either 😉
Stupefyingly silly – but at least it’s another reason to mock Chuck Robb.
Doesn’t shock me, MB. That’s the nature of liberty. If you want to have the liberties you want for yourself, you have to be willing to permit other people the liberty to do things you may not approve of. I advocate the abolition of all drug laws, yet I use no drugs of any kind(is coffee a drug?).
Government enforces it’s statues with the threat of a gun, and when that fails, the use of one. In order to be in favor of a law, you have to be willing to have someone shot, in your name, for not complying with it. Your not willing to see a business owner shot for setting his/her own prices, then advertising it, in a free and open marketplace. That doesn’t shock me. It shocks me that anyone would.
Mid 80’s, but otherwise, you’ve nailed it. I remember being in high school at the time. Isn’t it awful when the left and the right agree?
Abolish liquor licenses. Since Ireland abolished liquor licenses, and the drinking age, teen drinking, drinking in general, and drunken driving have all gone down precipitously over there. Give freedom a chance.
I’ve said the same thing before, and been called onto the carpet for it. Although I’m beginning to turn away from the term libertarian. I prefer Sovereign Individualist. At least I get to define that term, without the baggage of the historical misuse of terms like libertarian, or anarcho-capitalist.
“I won’t argue for the removal of the restrictions, because I’m a realist – that will never happen.”
The world is changed by idealists, not realists.
The laws may be silly, but I do not feel strongly enough about it to do anything about it. We have far more offensive laws on the Virginia books…
Drunken driving is serious, serious business… and I doubt these laws have much effect on the number of people driving while intoxicated, but if they do – then we should keep them. If not – I am not really concerned either way.
Wow guys, this is nothing. In Texas, they still have dry counties. There are counties in North and East Texas where you have to carry a special card to get a glass of wine with dinner. Though in wet counties, there are a beer barns (i.e., drive-through alcoholic beverage stores). So, it is an interesting dichotomy. When I moved here and saw the VABC stores, I thought: “Wow, outright socialism in a Red state!” (BTW, no pun intended)
As to these laws, I don’t know the history here in Virginia. And I don’t know if they are effective in reducing public intoxication or drunk driving. There could be some good that comes from them. So, I don’t know if we should scrap them without some thought to it. But it does also seem a little overbearing.
Vivian, I was going to say what Rick said. I want to emphasize again what an ignoramus I am on liquor laws, but if we had no such thing as liquor licenses and someone came up with the idea, what would their argument in favor of them be? What do they do that local police cannot already with existing drinking laws?
Rick, do people feel trapped by you, at parties?
~
Also, I would just like to pour out a little liquor for my (relatively) recently departed friend, the old Georgia open container law. The driver couldn’t drink, but shotgun and anyone in the backseat could.
*chuckle* Only liberals. 😉
Joking!! Joke, joke, joking, joke, joke, joke.
Naw – I never called you on the carpet for it 😉
While I was joking about the liquor licenses, I didn’t know that Ireland had abolished them with such good results. Certainly makes the case for at least giving it a go here.
They did away with this? What a shame 😦
“What do they do that local police cannot already with existing drinking laws?”
Collect fees.