Atlanta Mayor Bottoms Extends Order Allowing Restaurants To Sell Alcohol To-Go Through June 30

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Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Tuesday by way of an administrative order extended the ability for the City’s restaurants to continue selling alcohol for off-premise consumption through June 30.

As with the original order, which was set to expire May 20, all sold alcohol must be unopened.

Here’s the language from the update:

Administrative Order 2020-14 directs the Atlanta Police Department (APD) to refrain from taking any action to enforce any prohibitions against the sale of unopened wine and/or malt beverages by the package for off-premises consumption by restaurants and other eating and drinking establishments licensed for the sale of those beverages through June 30, 2020.

The updated order which is one of three is meant to “assist Atlanta residents and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Bottoms’ extension of this order reinforces the Mayor’s messaging that Atlantans should continue staying at home even while Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has lifted his “shelter-in-place” mandate and has allowed restaurants to reopen dining rooms as of April 27.

“My concern in our state in and in our city is that we’ve gone back to normal, and there’s nothing normal about where we are with COVID-19,” Mayor Bottoms last week told CNN.

[Editor’s note: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly evolving as is its effect on Atlanta, and the City’s businesses and its residents. Click here for What Now Atlanta’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]