On October 8, 2021, Governor Newsom approved three restaurant relief measures. These measures will affect outdoor dining and the ABC license process.  All three measures received bipartisan support and were supported by restaurant advocacy groups.

AB 61: Business Pandemic Relief

AB 61 authorizes the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) to permit restaurants to serve alcohol in an expanded license area. The bill would also authorize the ABC to extend the period of time during which the COVID-19 permit is valid beyond 365 days if the licensee has applied ...

On July 14, 2021, the Senate Health Committee approved Assembly Bill (“AB”) 61, which would provide regulatory flexibility to restaurants to expand outdoor dining. The bill now includes an urgency clause, meaning that it can be implemented immediately after it passes. The bill was first introduced on December 7, 2020. It now has 21 bipartisan co-authors.

According to a press release, “AB 61 would provide much-needed regulatory flexibility to restaurants, including temporarily waiving requirements for fully enclosed kitchen and service areas, extending existing ABC ...

On Tuesday, June 8, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion to establish permanent guidelines for outdoor dining and move from the temporary pandemic authorizations to a long-term plan.

The motion requested several L.A. County agencies to work together to establish permanent Countywide guidelines for expanded options for outdoor dining spaces. This includes new guidelines for public sidewalks, alleys, and private on-site and off-site parking facilities.

The Board also asked those agencies to develop a plan to transition all restaurants that have ...

On Monday, April 19, 2021, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti delivered his 2021 State of the City speech and announced several initiatives designed to assist restaurants. 

The proposals for restaurant relief included in Garcetti’s speech include:

• $25 million program to write Comeback Checks of $5,000 to 5,000 small businesses.
• A proposed ordinance to cut the time for alcohol permit approval for restaurants by 90% and to cut the cost of that permit by 70%.
• Allowing restaurants to defer city fees of $8,000 or more for a three-year period.
• Suspension of valet and off-site parking ...

On March 16, 2021, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (the “Board”) revised its protocol for issuing fines to businesses violating the County’s COVID-19 protocols, reversing course. These protocols were implemented in August 2020 at the Board’s direction, and have led to fines and temporary closures for a number of restaurants.

In July 2020, the Board passed a motion directing the Department of Public Health (the “Department”) to take stricter enforcement measures to ensure greater levels of compliance with COVID-19 safety protocols.  In August 2020, the ...

Los Angeles County’s Public Health Department announced a new stay at home order, which goes into effect November 30, 2020 and will remain in place until December 20, 2020.

Under the new order, all public and private gatherings with individuals from more than one household are prohibited, except for faith-based services and protests.

The order states that restaurants, bars, breweries and wineries remain closed for in-person dining and drinking “because of high rates of transmission in the community.” The order states that one reason for the closure of in-person dining is ...

On August 31, 2020, California introduced a statewide blueprint for reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic designed to provide clear guidance and timelines for which industries may safely open. 

The new system is color-coded and has four tiers, with Tier 1 being the highest risk of community disease transmission and Tier 4 the lowest risk. The four tiers are based on two factors: (1) the county’s positivity rate; and (2) the daily new cases for each 100,000 residents.

The tiers are outlined below:

• Tier 1 (purple/widespread): higher than 8% testing positivity rate; more than 7 daily ...

On July 7, 2020, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a motion to fine LA County businesses, including restaurants, for violations of COVID-19 public health orders, and to shut businesses down for non-compliance in as little as two health inspector visits. The motion was proposed by Supervisors Shelia Kuehl and Janice Hahn. 

In explaining the urgency of passing the motion, the proposal states: “on the weekend of June 27-28, inspectors found that 49% of bars and 33% of restaurants were not adhering to physical distancing protocols indoors and that 54% of bars and 44% of ...

On July 1, 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered restaurants in nineteen California counties, including Los Angeles County, to cease indoor operations for at least three weeks, until July 22, 2020.

The nineteen counties affected by the Governor’s order represent 70% of the California population. They are Contra Costa, Fresno, Glenn, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Merced, Orange, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Solano, Stanislaus, Tulare and Ventura counties.

In addition to restaurants, the order requires that wineries ...

The City of Los Angeles has launched an “L.A. Al Fresco” Program aimed at helping restaurants reopen while following COVID-19 physical distancing guidelines. 

The program will allow restaurants to use their sidewalk and private parking lots spaces to increase their outdoor dining capacity.  Through the program, the City will offer streamlined, immediate approval for eligible restaurants to provide outdoor dining in sidewalks and private parking lots.  The approval will also allow restaurants to serve alcohol in these areas.

L.A. Al Fresco was launched on May 29, 2020 and the ...

On June 3, 2020, the Los Angeles City Council adopted an ordinance capping third-party food delivery services fees at 15% for the duration of the COVID-19 public health emergency. The ordinance will become part of the City’s Municipal Code.

The new ordinance makes it unlawful for a third-party food delivery service to charge a restaurant a fee per online order of more than 15% of the purchase price of the order. The ordinance is designed to protect the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, when dine-in was prohibited. The ordinance is set to expire 90 days after the ...