DURHAM, N.C. — The alcohol industry is changing in North Carolina.
Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill in July that says customers no longer need to be members at bars in order to get a drink.
The old laws required business owners to charge a small fee so patrons could get beer, wine or mixed drinks.
The new law makes some things easier for bar owners and customers, but there are still rules that others see as burdensome.
In North Carolina, happy hour drink specials are not legal. And because the sale of liquor and spirits is state-controlled, every bottle of alcohol needs to be marked with a specific tax stamp. It shows the liquor was purchased from the correct part of the ABC.
"In practice, this means that in Durham County there is only one ABC store that I am allowed to order from," said Kingfisher cocktail bar co-owner Sean Umstead. "If they are out of stock of something, even if it's in every other liquor store in Durham... I can't go purchase it because I can't get them to put the tax stamp on it."
And if a bottle doesn't have a tax stamp on it, bar owners can get fined if state regulators show up unannounced to check.
"I am not a person who is railing against the government to not tax me," Umstead said. "I just think it's insane that they have to run the industry to be able to make that revenue."
Under House Bill 768, private bars like Kingfisher will now be known in state law as bars that primarily serve alcohol and don't serve prepared food.
The bill also repeals the limited winery permit, which allowed only existing wineries to provide free samples. The changes also eliminate the commercial transportation limit, which was previously required for people transporting malt beverages, wine or liquor.
The bill creates a 60-day transitional period in which a new owner can obtain a new ABC permit for an establishment and will allow the sale of alcohol at professional sporting events held at stadiums owned by community colleges.
