In bars, taprooms, and tasting rooms, determining who can participate in a tip pool raises two important questions. These questions revolve around whether managers should share in the tip pool and how employees with dual job roles should be treated when it comes to tips. This article will delve into these questions and propose potential solutions to ensure fair...
Continue ReadingFlorida restaurants that want to sell beer, wine and liquor–whether at a restaurant bar or to seated customers–must have a 4COP-SFS (formerly known as 4COP-SRX) license issued by the Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (ABT) pursuant to Florida Statutes Section 561.20(2)(a)4. Most recently, this law was updated by Florida Law 2023-65, effective July 1, 2023. To get...
Continue ReadingWhen it comes to delivering beer from breweries to distributors and from distributors to retailers, it’s not just about the beer. There are also kegs, tap markers, and pallets that change hands in each transaction, and the Florida Beverage Law does not provide much guidance on their management. This is why it’s important for all parties – brewery, distributor,...
Continue ReadingYou first opened your brewery taproom, winery tasting room, or craft distillery bar several weeks ago, and everything is going well. A good crowd is enjoying your products and the environment, enhanced by a perfectly curated playlist of just the right chill pop hits. That’s when you open a letter from a company called BMI, ASCAP or SESAC. This...
Continue ReadingLaws and regulations that govern the production and sale of alcoholic beverage products can seem very strict. This is true for the most part. However, there are circumstances when variances from the rules–either permanent or temporary–are authorized. The key to any variance from federal or state alcoholic beverage regulations is the same: a request for variance must be made...
Continue ReadingNothing. Despite the popularity of pop-up bars and restaurants, Florida does not have special laws and regulations that are specifically aimed at these short-term hospitality concepts. That’s a problem for pop-up organizers. The primary attributes of pop-ups are their limited durations (sometimes as short as one event) and their uncommon locations (abandoned businesses, building rooftops, airplane hangars, etc.). But...
Continue ReadingThe Florida ABT’s 1998 Declaratory Statement tells that licensed alcoholic beverage retailers can pay manufacturers for the use of their trademark under certain terms. Friday’s Wanted to Create the Jack Daniel’s Grill In Declaratory Statement 98-01, the ABT was asked whether Friday’s Hospitality Worldwide Inc. (“Friday’s”, operators of the same restaurant chain at the time), a alcoholic beverage vendor,...
Continue ReadingImagine a business–call it Mobile Bar–that brings the bar to you. You hire Mobile Bar for a reception, party or other event held at your home, office, or other private property. Mobile Bar has a cool, old trailer, truck, or standing bar that it brings to your location. Mobile Bar handles buying all the beer, wine and liquor and...
Continue ReadingIt’s natural to want to expand a successful brewery and taproom to new parts of the state. Before launching that second Florida location for your brewery or taproom, Florida brewery owners should pay attention to the following three considerations.
Continue ReadingAlcoholic beverage retailers–including bars, restaurants, breweries, wineries, and distilleries–are often asked to provide off-site alcohol service–catering–for a range of events. In Florida, there are a limited number of ways in which an alcohol retailer can participate in providing alcohol service away from its licensed premises. Option 1: Sales to Private Party for Open Bar Alcohol retailers that have a...
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