{"id":2347,"date":"2021-08-18T08:00:52","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T13:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/?p=2347"},"modified":"2021-08-16T23:18:08","modified_gmt":"2021-08-17T04:18:08","slug":"how-food-trucks-sell-alcohol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/how-food-trucks-sell-alcohol\/","title":{"rendered":"How Can Food Trucks Sell Alcohol? (A Must-Read for Operators)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kelly Morales is the owner of\u00a0Beehive Taphouse. It is a mobile bar in a food cart park located in Salem Oregon. Just last year, between March and April, he sold 1,880 pints and 860 quarts of craft beer. His mobile truck instantly became the \u201cnew cool place\u201d in town after brick-and-mortar bars and breweries had closed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Food trucks and mobile bars have been breakaway stars in this new era of dining. Food truck operators can serve gourmet cuisines at affordable prices right in front of their target customer\u2019s location. Mobile bars have different restrictions as they are bound by local alcohol laws that vary per state. The question now is: how can food trucks sell alcohol? Here\u2019s a must-read for operators!<\/span><\/p>\n<div style=\"border: 3px solid; padding: 10px; width: 100%; border-radius: 25px; border-color: #F4A70F; color: #007bff;\">\n<strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #007bff;\">What&#8217;s Inside<\/p>\n<p><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#laws\"> The United States Alcohol Laws and Regulations<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#requirements\"> Basic Business Requirements to Sell Alcohol<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtosell\"> How Can Your Food Truck Business Sell Alcohol?<\/a><\/li>\n<ul>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtosell1\"> Bars and Breweries Partnership<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtosell2\"> Off-Premise License<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtosell3\"> Special Events License<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#howtosell4\"> Temporary License for Catering Events<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"#bottomline\"> The Bottom Line<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"laws\"><strong>The United States Alcohol Laws and Regulations<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Minimum Drinking Age Act was enacted on July 17, 1984. This US alcohol regulation prohibits drinking and possessing alcohol for people below 21 years old. Although, in some states, there are special cases to consider to allow drinking of alcohol for those under the legal drinking age. These exemptions include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Educational Purposes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Law Enforcement Purposes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lawful Employment<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Medical Reasons<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parental, Guardian, or Spousal Consent<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Religious Activities<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1933, the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.alcohol.org\/laws\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">21<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Amendment of the United States Constitution<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was passed and ratified. It is the major federal law that governs the distribution, importation, possession, sale, and use of alcoholic beverages. Some of the basic information about this alcohol law are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An alcoholic beverage is defined as containing 0.05% of alcohol. These may include beer, distilled spirits, liquor, and wine. Distilled spirits may be in the form of gin, rum, scotch, tequila, vodka, whiskey, and the likes.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The national Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) limit for someone driving a motor vehicle is .08.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The amendment allows individual states to control the distribution, importation, possession, and sale of alcohol.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally, food trucks are not permitted to sell or store alcoholic beverages. But since some food and snacks go well with alcohol, some US states allow food trucks to sell alcohol under certain special circumstances.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"requirements\"><strong>Basic Business Requirements to Sell Alcohol<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The basic requirements for a business to be granted a license to sell alcohol are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A legal description of the business<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A permanent address where the product will be sold. The physical location should not be close to a church or school.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The neighborhood\u2019s approval to grant a license for selling alcohol (City Permit)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because food trucks are mobile in nature, they technically don\u2019t qualify for a license to sell alcohol. Except if they are parked in a permanent location. Recently, some US States have loosened their tight grip over the alcohol laws and regulations. California, Florida, New York, and Oregon allow food trucks to get special and temporary permits for selling alcohol.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"uv-lst\" data-category=\"20\" data-count=\"6\" data-type=\"new\"> <\/div>\n<h2 id=\"howtosell\"><strong>How Can Your Food Truck Business Sell Alcohol?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The United States strictly enforces the alcohol laws and regulations stated in the 21<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Amendment of the US Constitution. But that doesn\u2019t mean that food trucks cannot totally sell alcoholic beverages or drinks. There are several ways they can do so. Here\u2019s how!<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"howtosell1\">Bars and Breweries Partnership<\/h3>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most bars and breweries are now having food truck nights. Others allow a static location near them for a food truck to operate. Partnering with these bars and breweries gives food truck operators the option to get an extended license to sell alcohol within the premises.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"howtosell2\">Off-Premise License<\/h3>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some states allow the selling of beer, wine, or liquor if the food truck has a permanent location. These off-premise licenses can be given all year round. With an off-premise license, a food truck operator needs to set up a cordoned off \u201cpatio\u201d for alcohol patrons. It is the place where they could stay to consume the beverage. Most off-premise licenses to sell alcohol are allowed among food truck lots with joint bars.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"howtosell3\">Special Events License<\/h3>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Special events are occasions that allow the attendance of the general public. These may include conferences, cultural gatherings, exhibits, fairs, festivals, etc. Food trucks can participate in these types of events and can get a special event license to sell alcohol within a private or public property. In this scenario, the special event permittee will buy alcoholic beverages from a licensed alcohol distributor. The permittee will then allow the food truck to sell the alcohol during the event. After the event is finished, any leftover alcoholic beverages will be surrendered to the permittee.\u00a0<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h3 id=\"howtosell4\">Temporary License for Catering Events<\/h3>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A food truck may get a temporary license to sell alcohol during a catering event for birthdays, reunions, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/food-trucks-weddings\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">weddings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, etc. Typically, they are limited to serving beer and wines. There are two options for food trucks to get a temporary license to sell alcohol during a catering event. The first one is to partner with a local caterer to establish the legal description of your business. The second one is to be a food truck catering service business. Read our article on <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/set-up-food-truck-catering-business\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Start a Food Truck Catering Business<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><br \/>\n<b><\/b><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"bottomline\"><strong>The Bottom Line<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><b><\/b><br \/>\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Keep in mind that the selling of alcoholic beverages in the US is heavily regulated. Every US state strictly requires the correct documentation,\u00a0licenses, and permits\u00a0for a business to sell alcohol legally. Any time a food truck will be selling alcohol, it is highly recommended to consult a commercial insurance agent or company. This is to inquire and learn the additional insurance coverage needed when serving alcohol. If an attendee or a patron over-consumes alcohol and causes damage or injury to someone, the US law can hold everyone in the event or premise liable. Typically, a dram shop or liquor liability coverage can fill this gap of general liability insurance when serving alcohol.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We hope this article answered the questions you have in mind. If you need help with starting a mobile business and buying <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/used-mobile-food-trucks\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">food trucks<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, contact us on <\/span><b>(601) 749-8424<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Kelly Morales is the owner of\u00a0Beehive Taphouse. It is a mobile bar in a food cart park located in Salem Oregon. Just last year, between March and April, he sold 1,880 pints and 860 quarts of craft beer. His mobile truck instantly became the \u201cnew cool place\u201d in town after [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":191,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[20,720,317,416,13,722,721],"class_list":["post-2347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-trucks","tag-food-truck-business","tag-food-truck-business-guide","tag-food-truck-business-tips","tag-food-truck-guide","tag-food-trucks","tag-how-can-food-trucks-sell-alcohol","tag-how-to-sell-alcohol-on-food-trucks"],"modified_by":"Titus Asher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/191"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2347"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2359,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2347\/revisions\/2359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usedvending.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}