If you show a pattern of consistently asking patrons if they would like something to eat and prominently displaying food opportunities right up until closing, it’s no guarantee that it will help you in the event of a lawsuit stemming from an accident but it most certainly could help.
In 38 states, bars or bartenders who serve liquor “to a drinker who is obviously intoxicated or close to it” can “be strictly liable to anyone injured by the drunken patron,” according to Law.com.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving makes the point that any promotion or event that encourages more drinking — from bar crawls to happy hours — is a bad idea.
If your bar or tavern promotes (Happy Hour) pricing on drink specials it could be perceived as encouraging patrons to drink more during this time. In any kind of legal proceeding this would most certainly used to show a pattern of encouraging people to drink more alcohol.
If instead you focus your (Happy Hour)(Last Call) special on food/snack specials, You are showing a pattern of encouraging your customers to come in for something to eat.
Being a responsible bar owner means paying attention to all of these things. Training your servers to closely monitor a customers ‘state’ as well as promoting and encouraging the consumption of food/snacks in addition to drink, isn’t just a good idea…. It’s good business.
Giovanni’s Premium Frozen Pizza is the perfect food offering in your bar/tavern. Because it’s single serve and ready to bake, it’s a simple solution for a food offering right up until the end of your establishments open hours.