INtouch
PO Box 7577, Columbia, SC 29202
november 2020
PRSRT STD US POSTAGE PAID COLUMBIA, SC PERMIT 168
Save the date! Restaurant Week South Carolina is an 11-day celebration at hundreds of participating restaurants. From fine to casual dining, participating restaurants will feature special menu items, promotions and discounts. Learn more at RestaurantWeekSouthCarolina.com.
SCRLA Member Spotlight Scofflaw Brewing Co. Founder Pledges More Than $200,000 in Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina Scofflaw Brewing Co. has pledged over $200,000 for the hospitality industry relief donations through partnerships with the Giving Kitchen and Bottleshare in Georgia, KultureCity Alabama Restaurant & Hospitality Association, in Alabama, and the South Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. Through each partnership, Scofflaw Brewing is committed to supporting hospitality service workers in need of financial assistance due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Scofflaw has provided additional contributions to the Georgia Chapter of the NAACP, Project South and the Georgia Center for Opportunity. Scofflaw has partnered with the Giving Kitchen and Bottleshare to create two “Scofflaw Matched”, GoFundMe donation pages. In addition to Scofflaw’s charitable matching campaigns, Scofflaw Brewing Co. founder, Matthew Shirah, donated more than $100,000 in Publix, Target, and Kroger gift cards to various organizations. In South Carolina, Scofflaw donated $25,000 to the South Carolina Restaurant & Lodging Association to create the Hospitality Employee Relief Fund. Through a formal application process, $250 grants were redistributed in the hospitality industry to employees who had been financially impacted by the pandemic. To date, the Relief Fund has raised more than $50,000 through generous donations from various donors. Additionally, Scofflaw donated over 200 gallons of hand sanitizer to the SCRLA. “Now more than ever, leaders in the alcohol and beverage industry should be doing anything they can to support hospitality industry employees, including our own. These folks have made this industry and Scofflaw what it is today, yet they continue to face the most difficult circumstances imaginable,” Shirah said.
Win Against SC-DOR in a Beer and Wine Permit Revocation Case A significant opinion by the South Carolina Court of Appeals regarding beer and wine sales has recently been issued. In the case, the beer and wine permit holder sold beer to an underage person for the fourth time. The S.C. Department of Revenue’s penalty guidelines provide that when a business has sold beer to an underage person for the fourth time, the penalty is revocation of the permit. The S.C. Department of Revenue (DOR) argued that the Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) was required to revoke the license because DOR is the state agency that regulates beer and wine and therefore the judge must follow DOR’s penalty guidelines. Despite DOR’s argument, the ALJ declined to revoke the permit but instead suspended the permit and assessed a fine. The judge also considered certain mitigating factors that DOR argued the judge could not consider. The Court of Appeals disagreed with DOR and held that the ALJ’s ruling of nonrevocation was within his authority and the judge was not required to comply with DOR guidelines. Attorney Zoe C. Sanders argued and won the case for the permit holder. Zoe Sanders is a criminal, civil and regulatory lawyer with broad and in depth experience helping individuals and entities through complex issues. Ms. Sanders can be reached at 893-960-3109, The Sanders Law Firm of South Carolina LLC. 1727 Hampton Street, Columbia, S.C. 29201. The Court designated its opinion as not constituting precedent for future cases.
As Winter Weather Approaches, Restaurants Get Creative with Outdoor Dining For many restaurants across the nation, outdoor dining has served as a crucial pivot to recapture business lost because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced cities to shut down indoor dining to prevent the virus’s spread. As winter approaches and temperatures drop, restaurants in locations with colder weather are starting to rethink how to keep outdoor dining open. Research from the National Restaurant Association found 1 in 6 restaurants closed permanently or long-term amid the pandemic. And as more states report rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, there’s a fear more restaurants will shut down. Time is ticking. According to a survey of 3,500 restaurants operators by the restaurant organization, establishments said they will be able to continue offering outdoor dining until November. Nearly half of all full-service restaurants (49%) say they will take actions to extend outdoor dining, including adding tents and patio heaters. The National Restaurant Association is urging local leaders across the country to offer more incentives to expand the outdoor dining season. In a letter last month to the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the organization suggested moves such as easing the process for obtaining permits to offer outdoor dining, and providing tax credits toward equipment used toward outdoor dining. “While not a substitute for the resumption of full capacity indoor dining, actions that local leaders take to extend the outdoor dining season will help restaurants of all sizes in the community,” wrote Mike Whatley, vice president of state and local affairs for the association.
Upcoming ServSafe Manager Classes GVL/Spartanburg - Nov. 17 Bluffton/Hilton Head - Nov. 19 Charleston - Nov. 23 GVL/Spartanburg - Nov. 24
Charleston - Dec. 5 Columbia - Dec. 8 Charleston - Dec. 9 GVL/Sptbg - Dec. 10
SCRLA members receive a 20% discount using the code SERV2. To sign up, visit AtlanticFoodSafety.com