States keep alcohol delivery options after pandemic as restaurants rebound

Dozens of states have chosen to keep cocktail deliveries, an emergency pandemic rule, permanent as restaurants rebound.

COVID-19 restrictions were designed to stem the tide of the biggest public health crisis in 100 years. As the virus began to recede with mass vaccination, many of the most burdensome were relaxed or dropped altogether. But there was at least one that many states, and their businesses, were more than happy to keep. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia had special provisions in place during the pandemic that allowed restaurants and bars to deliver alcohol orders to their customers.