During the pandemic, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) enacted temporary allowances that allow liquor license holders to rent their kitchens and expand allowable job duties for some minor employees.

These allowances have given small business owners and operators much-needed flexibility as they continue to recover from the pandemic. The allowances were set to expire soon, however the LCB announced today they will extend the temporary allowances listed below until Sept. 30.

MAST-Class 13 permits

Under the supervision of someone over the age of 21, MAST Class-13 permit holders ages 18-20 are limited to taking alcoholic beverage orders and delivering those orders to tables. They can also open and pour beer and wine at a customer’s table.

A temporary allowance was enacted allowing 18-20-year-old employees to with a Class 13 MAST permit to pre-pour samples, flights, and glasses of wine or beer for customers away from the customer’s table.

Minor employees/restricted areas

With this temporary allowance, 18-20-year-old employees may perform back-of-house work in restricted liquor establishments through Sept. 30. This allowance is another tool you can use as our industry continues to face challenges in hiring enough employees.

There are several rules that need to be followed if you do hire a minor to work back of house.

Renting kitchens to non-licensees

The association’s state government affairs team successfully petitioned the LCB to allow liquor licensees to rent out their kitchen space while it’s not being used for the primary business. Renting out your kitchen is an excellent opportunity for additional revenue streams while the industry continues to recover from the pandemic.

Like the minor employee/restricted area allowance, there are several rules that need to be followed if you want to rent out your kitchen.

 

The expiration date (July 1, 2023) for the temporary alcohol to-go allowance remains unchanged. In case you missed it, you can watch a replay of our recent webinar with LCB on this topic in our new alcohol to-go toolkit.