House Bill 1024 has heralded the arrival of a new revenue stream for restaurants that were hardest hit by the pandemic in 2020. ‘Alcohol to go’ is now law in the Lone Star State. Wine, beer, and mixed drinks can all be included in take-away food orders – indefinitely.
Uncertain times after months of staff unemployment call for prudent measures on the part of employers ensuring that their employees have undergone alcohol awareness training and received the required TABC certification.
Suppose you own a sports bar, a nightclub, a fine-dining restaurant, or any other enterprise that involves the sale of alcohol. In that case, the onus is on you to provide your staff with alcohol awareness training so that you can reduce your liquor liability risks. This is a TABC-certified ‘alcohol safe serving’ training course.
What is the TABC and How do They Impact my Business?
TABC stands for the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. They are responsible for controlling the importation, distribution, sale, and consumption of alcoholic beverages, which applies to all retailers, suppliers, and wholesalers who are licensed to manufacture, sell, serve, transport, or store liquor in the State of Texas. They call the shots around here.
Taking part in an online TABC-certified course such as that provided by Comedy Seller Server isn’t actually required by law – but it is required by the employer, which means that it might as well be. The technicality hinges on the protection that the TABC offers to employers who fall foul of the law called ‘safe harbor.’
The TABC is effectively telling employers that they won’t revoke their liquor license if one of their employees breaks the law regarding selling or serving alcohol. They will provide them with ‘safe harbor,’ providing they have undergone alcohol awareness training and are TABC certified.
With an estimated 700,000 jobs having been lost at the onset of the pandemic in 2020 (according to the Texas Restaurant Association), there is a great deal of economic instability and uncertainty. Texas has historically also had quite restrictive alcohol laws, such as those pertaining to the sale of alcohol on Sundays and a two-bottle limit for distilleries.
With Governor Greg Abbott signing the new House Bill 1024 ‘alcohol to go’ bill, and with hundreds of thousands of Texans vying to get their restaurant jobs back, the ‘alcohol safe serving’ landscape has changed dramatically.
This is the interesting part: the floodgates are open with ‘alcohol to go’ options and a reshuffling of who’s working where and who knows what exactly when it comes to ‘alcohol safe serving’. As a venue owner or employer involved in selling or serving alcohol, your liquor liability risks are higher than ever.
Just as your food staff are trained to prepare food, it’s more important than ever that employers involved in the sale and serving of alcohol complete alcohol awareness training too. It just takes one incident of an employee who is not TABC certified to serve an underage customer alcohol to go with his meal for things to go horribly wrong.
Comedy Seller Server wants all employees and employers to find that ‘safe harbor’ by offering a TABC certified alcohol safe serving course that is 100% online, affordable, and as funny ‘haha’ as the funny ‘peculiar’ times that we all find ourselves living in.
We’ve learned that using humor to educate is the best way to get results. Wise up to what’s going on out there and reduce your liquor liability risks by getting TABC certified alcohol awareness training in a New York minute with Comedy Seller Server.
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