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Hate Those 'Not A Bar' Signs? A New Bill Might Make Them Go Away

Nicole Nixon
/
KUER

Last year the Utah Legislature made bars and restaurants serving alcohol put signs up near the front door declaring which kind of liquor license the establishment holds.

Restaurant and bar owners complained the signs are confusing and contradictory.

But now those signs could change for bars and disappear from restaurant doorways altogether.

Rep. Brad Wilson, R-Layton, has introduced a bill that would waive requirements for restaurants to display the signs. Bars would still be required to display the signs, but could tweak the language of them to read that as a licensed bar, no one under 21 is allowed. 

Wilson passed legislation last year that first required the signs and made other significant changes to the state’s liquor laws.

Under that bill, restaurants were able to remove their ‘Zion Curtains,’ which blocked bartenders mixing drinks from public view. The bill also bumped the tax on liquor, beer and wine by two percent.

Wilson’s H.B. 456 would also create a new arena liquor license for venues primarily used for sports, concerts, plays and other performances. 

Nicole Nixon holds a Communication degree from the University of Utah. She has worked on and off in the KUER Newsroom since 2013, when she first joined KUER as an intern. Nicole is a Utah native. Besides public radio, she is also passionate about beautiful landscapes and breakfast burritos.
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