The Louisiana Restaurant Association estimates about 200 Louisiana bars applied for and received restaurant conditional licenses so they can open back up.
LRA President Stan Harris says only bars that were previously licensed by the Department of Health to do food service can apply, but for those that do qualify, he says it has been crucial.
“It has been a godsend to a lot of operators around the state that are bars that have food service, and this is going to give them a lifeline to be able to operate,” says Harris.
All bars were shuttered in Louisiana by order of the Governor last month after initially being allowed to operate under Phase Two.
Harris says, if you have the facilities to make the transition, it doesn’t take long to get back up and running.
“You can go to ATC.LA.Gov and download the application, complete the application, have it notarized and have it submitted to the nearest ATC office and typically it is a 24 hour turnaround,” says Harris.
Bars that make the switch will have a set amount of time to demonstrate that they can have food sales that account for more than half of their income, and have banned smoking, if they are in jurisdictions that still allow in bar smoking.
Harris warns not all bars are built to make the switch.
“If they don’t have a kitchen and they want to operate with package sandwiches or package food, that is not really what the restaurant conditional permit allows for,” says Harris.
