If you want to head to a bar to get a drink, you'll now have to order food along with it. That's one of the latest guidelines Governor Cuomo is handing down for restaurants and bars during the pandemic.

What You Need To Know


  • Restaurants and bars are now required to only serve alcohol to customers who order food

  • The Quarter in Buffalo plans to offer a low-cost appetizer to its patrons who want to purchase alcohol

  • Erie County Legislature Minority Leader Joe Lorigo is drafting legislation calling for the county attorney to sue the governor over his latest orders

"It's exhausting to continually have to try to figure out what the right thing is to do when there are so many different reports of so many different ways to do it," said Brandon Carr, the owner of The Quarter in Buffalo.

Frustration is mounting after Governor Cuomo released a new round of guidelines for restaurants and bars in the state. The governor is now requiring those places to only serve alcohol to people who are ordering and eating food. In order to receive service at bar tops, you must be a seated patron who is socially distancing from others or separated by physical barriers. 

Carr said, "With this new guideline, we've built pedestals, for our tables to go up on, so people can still sit at the bar."

He spent Thursday trying to figure out how to keep up with the latest set of rules. In addition to setting up tables at the bar, they now plan to offer crudités, a low-cost appetizer, to their customers who want to purchase alcohol.

"We looked in and contacted our attorneys and asked about if we did 25 cent pretzel rods or bags of popcorn or bags of chips and that actually is considered bar snacks, that is not allowed to be used, so it's very important that all restaurants contact their attorneys to find out what they can and can't do," he said.

Carr describes the last few months as challenging not only because of the pandemic itself but also trying to abide by mandates from the governor. He's hoping for better communication from the state and more clarification on updated guidelines.

This all has caught the eye of local legislators. Erie County Legislature Minority Leader Joe Lorigo is drafting legislation directing the county attorney to file a lawsuit against the governor on behalf of Erie County bars and restaurants.

"When Governor Cuomo keeps changing the goal posts they're struggling and I want to do anything that I possibly can to help these people maintain their businesses while also keeping our communities safe," Lorigo said.

Lorigo says he understands the concern about stopping the spread of the coronavirus but he considers the governor's orders as governmental overreach that leaves small business owners scrambling to keep up.

"Somebody needs to stand up for these people and their employees so that people can get back to work and we can take care of the people that we represent," he said.

Meanwhile back at the Quarter, Carr says patrons can still have a great time during all of this but urges everyone to do their part, including wearing their masks.

"It's going to be a bit of pain but we'll get through it," Carr said.