The introduction of a bill that would push back last call to 2 a.m. is a chance for the Arizona Legislature to take a step in the right direction for a change. In the past, where liquor laws are concerned, the trend has always been to steer clear of any semblance of reason.
Yes, in a country where the age to vote and serve in the military conflicts with the age to consume alcohol, Arizona is no exception in its completely nonsensical liquor laws. They range from a ridiculous amount of control over every minor detail regarding licensing and sale to liability for bartenders should they serve someone too much alcohol.
First, consider that to even acquire a bar, beer and wine or liquor store license requires purchasing an already existing license from someone else. These are "quota licenses," and not altogether cheap. A bar license permitting the sale of all spirituous liquor can easily run $70,000, assuming the state approves your application, of course.
Because a bar license is so hard to come by, many businesses opt to apply for a restaurant license, which stipulates at least 40 percent of gross revenue must be from the sale of food. If the restaurant's bar does too well and food sales dip below 40 percent, then ... hey, where did Jax Thai Bar go?
All liquor to be sold for consumption must be supplied by a licensed distributor and delivered to the establishment. This is not a problem for most liquor licensees, but those in out-of-the-way locations are stuck with higher transport fees that could be avoided by shopping at Costco, which is illegal.
The serving of alcohol is where things get tricky.
Technically, it is illegal to serve someone more than 32 ounces of beer (strange, since that would be only 2.5 bottles) or 4 ounces of hard liquor at any one time. Hence, you can't buy a pitcher of beer to drink by yourself at the bar, yet you can go to the liquor store and buy a keg. However, if you ordered 10 shots the bartender could hand you one at a time and circumvent this ridiculousness.
Other undue limitations include prohibiting drinking contests or running an "all you can drink" special. No one serving alcohol can buy or give away a drink to a customer (although this can be avoided by "selling" someone a drink for a penny).
It is also illegal for anyone serving alcohol to consume alcohol. This is a potential problem for bartenders who must translate the drunken ramblings of their customers. Speaking of drunks, this brings up another peculiarity: liability. In spite of all the rhetoric in this country about individual freedom and personal responsibility, neither applies to the sale of alcohol. Both the establishment and server are liable for actions done by persons under the influence of alcohol once they leave. This means someone injured by Drunk Driver A, who was drinking at Bar X, could sue Bar X and Bartender Y for damages. Never mind that Drunk Driver A acted of his own volition when he slammed a few Jager bombs and blew through a red light.
The likelihood of Arizona liquor laws becoming more lenient or, better yet, non-existent is slim. Until then, there's always Vegas where you can drink freely in public and barhop 24 hours a day.
Scott Phillips is a bartender tired of being the only sober guy at the bar. Reach him at scott.phillips@asu.edu.
