PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — In a converted mechanic's garage in the resort town of Park City, visitors to Utah can sample some of the state's new more liberal liquor laws.
Policies now permit High West whiskey, bourbon, vodka and rye to be distilled, bottled and dispensed from one location, something that five years ago was prohibited. And when new liquor laws kick in July 1, the saloon can even start selling bottles on Sundays.
But don't get too excited. Utah state laws aimed at limiting alcohol consumption still prevent patrons from ordering doubles, getting more than one-and-a-half ounces of liquor at a time, require that many drink orders be paired with food, force restaurants to put up a partition between bartenders and the public or mix drinks out of sight, and offer very few liquor licenses for restaurants and bars wanting to open up for business.
And there are no happy hours or drink specials allowed. While the state's liquor laws are now less restrictive after then-Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. loosened them 2008 and 2009, legislators aren't inclined to make it any easier to imbibe.
"We don't want to get our tourism industry tied to alcohol," state Senate President Michael Waddoups said. "We want it based on things that make Utah great ... We are not going to become Las Vegas or New Orleans."
The contradictions are confusing to tourists, many who come from around the world to enjoy not only Utah's great outdoors, but a few drinks with friends.
"When people come here, they are on vacation," said High West general manager James Dumas "They just want to get a drink without thinking about it."
Making the state more hospitable was a primary reason Huntsman pushed to change a state law that required people to purchase a membership before entering any bar that served liquor. The restriction was intended to minimize bar-hopping but was mostly just irritating to locals and confusing for visitors.
Fewer people are now bothered by Utah's laws, Dumas said, and those who are irritated focus on a specific issue, such as the small pours.
"People need to remember that the clientele are often world travelers, or coming from places like Europe, and expect to easily have a drink," he said.
Business owners also find the laws not only quirky but inhibiting.
At The Omni sushi restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City, owner Kelly Shiotani's business is suffering. Because the restaurant doesn't have the required partition between its bar and patrons, bartenders have to mix drinks in a back kitchen and pull beer from taps in a walk-in refrigerator.
Shiotani is trying to get one of the state's coveted "club licenses," which are less restrictive and would allow the restaurant to mix up cocktails in sight of patrons, but he's been waiting months. At the last monthly meeting of the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control commission, Shiotani was among 15 applicants vying for one available license in the entire state.
While many blame the restrictive liquor laws on The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, headquartered in Salt Lake City and hugely influential in state politics, Shiotani said the laws seem less reflective of the Mormon influence and more attributable to an older generation of political leaders who are bothered by alcohol consumption.
"I have lots of LDS friends who have been to other states and countries," Shiotani said. "They don't see drinking as evil ... this is an issue of legislators wanting to control behavior."
People will always come to Utah for the outdoors first, said Nathan Rafferty, director of the tourism promotion group Ski Utah, so debauchery doesn't need to be a goal. But leaders should aim to reduce confusion for the public and provide consistency, he said.
"Over the last couple of years, we've taken some positive steps for our tourism community and people visiting the state," Rafferty said. "But we have to be careful. We've always been a more conservative state, but we need to make sure we don't take any steps backward."
Rafferty said rules "should be standardized so businesses don't have to jump through a lot of hoops, because that's where you see the frustration." Ideally, laws should align with typical business models for restaurants and bars, especially when it comes to alcohol revenues.
Currently, a restaurant must make up 70 percent of its sales from food, but most successful casual restaurants make at least 50 percent of their profit from beer, wine and liquor sales. He said the state should also offer more licenses for social and dining clubs, where people can order drinks without food, and remove the onerous partition requirement to help make atmospheres more festive, as in most other states around the country.
"People come here for a lot of reasons," Rafferty said. "We don't need a Jagermeister Happy Hour on every corner, but there are certain, basic comforts you need in place for the visitors coming from around the world."
