Sec. 30-22a. Cafe permit.
Sec. 30-22a. Cafe permit. (a) A cafe permit shall allow the retail sale of alcoholic
liquor to be consumed on the premises of a cafe. Premises operated under a cafe permit
shall regularly keep food available for sale to its customers for consumption on the
premises. The availability of sandwiches, soups or other foods, whether fresh, processed,
precooked or frozen, shall be deemed compliance with this requirement. The licensed
premises shall at all times comply with all the regulations of the local department of
health. Nothing herein shall be construed to require that any food be sold or purchased
with any liquor, nor shall any rule, regulation or standard be promulgated or enforced
requiring that the sale of food be substantial or that the receipts of the business other
than from the sale of liquor equal any set percentage of total receipts from sales made
therein. A cafe permit shall allow, with the prior approval of the Department of Consumer
Protection, alcoholic liquor to be served at tables in outside areas that are screened or
not screened from public view where permitted by fire, zoning and health regulations.
If not required by fire, zoning or health regulations, a fence or wall enclosing such
outside areas shall not be required by the Department of Consumer Protection. No fence
or wall used to enclose such outside areas shall be less than thirty inches high. The
annual fee for a cafe permit shall be one thousand seven hundred fifty dollars.
(b) (1) A cafe patron may remove one unsealed bottle of wine for off-premises
consumption provided the patron has purchased a full course meal and consumed a
portion of the wine with such meal on the cafe premises. For purposes of this section,
"full course meal" means a diversified selection of food which ordinarily cannot be
consumed without the use of tableware and which cannot be conveniently consumed
while standing or walking.
(2) A partially consumed bottle of wine that is to be removed from the premises
pursuant to this subsection shall be securely sealed and placed in a bag by the permittee
or the permittee's agent or employee prior to removal from the premises.
(c) As used in this section, "cafe" means space in a suitable and permanent building,
kept, used, maintained, advertised and held out to the public to be a place where alcoholic
liquor and food is served for sale at retail for consumption on the premises but which
does not necessarily serve hot meals; it shall have no sleeping accommodations for the
public and need not necessarily have a kitchen or dining room but shall have employed
therein at all times an adequate number of employees.
(1967, P.A. 365, S. 2; P.A. 79-604, S. 2, 5; P.A. 92-15, S. 2; P.A. 93-139, S. 19; P.A. 95-195, S. 26, 83; P.A. 97-175,
S. 3; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d); P.A. 04-11, S. 2; 04-33, S. 2; 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1.)
History: P.A. 79-604 added provisions re serving liquor at outdoor tables under cafe permit; P.A. 92-15 amended section
to provide that prior approval of the department of liquor control is necessary for serving of alcoholic liquor at tables in
outside areas not screened from public view where permitted by fire, zoning or health regulations and to specify that a
fence or wall enclosing such outside areas would not be required by the department of liquor control if no fire, zoning or
health regulations required same; P.A. 93-139 made technical changes, added the annual fee for a cafe permit and added
Subsec. (b) defining "cafe"; P.A. 95-195 amended Subsec. (a) by substituting Department of Consumer Protection for
Department of Liquor Control, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 97-175 amended Subsec. (b) to require alcoholic liquor and
food to be served for sale at retail and to make a technical change; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced
Department of Consumer Protection with Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004;
P.A. 04-11 amended Subsec. (a) to permit the serving of alcoholic liquor at tables in outside areas which are screened, in
addition to tables in outside areas which are not screened; P.A. 04-33 added new Subsec. (b) permitting a patron to remove
one unsealed bottle of wine for off-premises consumption, and relettered former Subsec. (b) as Subsec. (c); P.A. 04-189
repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and
Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004.
See Sec. 30-22c re operation of juice bar.
Cited. 158 C. 362.