A House panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill that would extend for five years a provision allowing restaurants and bars to offer alcoholic beverage takeout and delivery after hearing testimony from a host of witnesses praising the original measure as a lifeline during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“This extra source of revenue has been utilized by over 90% of restaurants in Colorado and for some of them, a lot of them, it has been a factor in keeping them in business during all of this,” said Rep. Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, who sponsored the bill along with Rep. Colin Larson, R-Littleton. 

The bill comes after Gov. Jared Polis ordered the authorization of take-out alcohol at restaurants last March as the state ordered restaurants to close their dining rooms amid the pandemic. State lawmakers subsequently approved a year-long authorization of the practice last summer as part of COVID relief legislation.  

The practice proved extremely popular with both customers and businesses – a number of restaurants, brewpubs and advocacy groups told the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee about the importance of adding another revenue stream as business dwindled. 

“When [the pandemic] hit, the ability to actually put beer, spirits, cocktails to-go not only saved our inventory, it was a lifeline,” said Vanessa Minke, the co-owner of Jake’s Brew Bar in Littleton. “It saved our employees, it saved us, it paid the rent, it helped us get through.” 

That sentiment was echoed by several other witnesses, including representatives of the Colorado Restaurant Association, the Tavern League of Colorado and the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Still, it received pushback from a pair of witnesses representing liquor stores, who said among other things the bill’s five-year sunset provision was far too long and the measure would “blur the lines” between liquor stores and restaurants. 

“We’re not saying that that shouldn’t happen maybe at some point, but it needs to happen with a really thoughtful conversation by all parties involved,” said Kachina Weaver, a former Polis aide and the executive director of the Colorado Licensed Beverage Association, an advocacy group representing small liquor stores. “There has been very minimal stakeholding happening with this.” 

Those concerns were largely dismissed by lawmakers, several of which praised Roberts and Larson for their stakeholder process. But several members of the panel did raise concerns about an amendment the pair brought limiting the continuation of the program to establishments that served food while giving non-retail licenses like brewers and distillers a sixth-month timeline to convert their license.  

That would prevent breweries of any size from offering delivery unless they converted their license, though Roberts said breweries are already allowed to provide takeout services. According to testimony, that move was done because all breweries regardless of size hold the same license.  

“Your local craft brewery has the same brewery license as Anheuser-Busch or Miller-Coors,” Steve Findley, the president of the Colorado Beer Distributors Association, told the panel. “Giving those large breweries an unfair advantage is not right.” 

But Reps. Kyle Mullica, D-Northglenn, and Terri Carver, R-Colorado Springs, said they felt that forcing small breweries to convert their license to continue delivery service was unfair. 

“We could make a distinction in size,” Carver said. “We’ve made distinctions in size with other COVID–related bills in order to focus relief to small businesses which have been hardest hit during this COVID pandemic.” 

Mullica ultimately opted to support the amendment, which passed 8-5. Carver and four of the panel’s GOP members voted against the amendment, but all five supported the bill on final passage. It now heads to the House Finance Committee