Another year for drinks-to-go

Want a margarita along with the meal you're ordering for dinner tonight?

As long as you're safe and responsible about it, go ahead and add one to your takeout order. The ability to do so may soon end, however, since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's pandemic-prompted executive order allowing alcohol-to-go is set to expire Saturday.

A bill making its way through the State Legislature would allow to-go alcohol sales to continue for the next year. But the bill is more than just a way for Long Islanders to add a cocktail to their dinner plans. It comes at a critical time, when the economic rebound is still in its early stages, and when restaurants — a key component of the region's economy — are looking for ways to jump-start their recovery. The legislation could make a difference in whether local restaurants can stay in business during the all-important months to come. And New York is not alone; more than 30 states loosened their laws during the pandemic and many are keeping the change in place.

The proposed bill in New York appropriately limits the size and number of drinks that can be ordered and requires food be ordered along with the alcohol. Restaurants wouldn't be able to sell full bottles of wine or liquor. And the law's planned expiration will force lawmakers to revisit the issue next year.

But the bill still has vocal opposition, particularly from liquor stores that fear the new legislation would hurt their business and change the dynamic of alcohol sales more broadly.

This represents an opportunity. The alcohol-to-go bill should pass, and Cuomo should sign it, to give the restaurant industry the post-pandemic boost it needs. But state officials must not stop there. This is a chance to take a broader look at the state's jumble of archaic alcohol laws, develop guidelines that make sense, and allow the entire food and beverage industry to thrive while continuing to protect underage New Yorkers.

That includes reevaluating the hours liquor stores are allowed to remain open. State law says they must close by midnight, except on Sundays, when they must close by 9 p.m., which is what happens in New York City. But in Nassau and Suffolk counties, liquor shops must close by 8 p.m. during the week, 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 9 p.m. Sundays. All of that, even as bars and restaurants can serve alcohol until 4 a.m. State officials also should look at other restrictive policies, like what liquor stores are permitted to sell, and whether grocery stores could sell wine, which more than 30 states allow. And any comprehensive look at alcohol sales in New York now must reflect the coming reality of marijuana sales, too.

Raise a glass (or a plastic to-go cup) to the continued recovery of the restaurants and bars so crucial to Long Island's comeback. But at the same time, push for the state to modernize its liquor laws, so everyone can benefit. We'd drink to that.

— The editorial board