Level 3: Yes, restaurants can sell alcohol – but there are some strict rules

Monday promises to be a very exciting day for the drinkers of South Africa, as the implementation of lockdown Level 3 allows citizens to purchase alcohol for the first time in 67 days. It’s been a rough ride – let’s not mention the pineapple beer – but the industry is ready to reopen… and restaurants are set for a slice of the action, too.

Can restaurants sell alcohol during Level 3 of lockdown? Yes, but only under these conditions…

Speaking over the weekend, the Restaurant Association of South Africa (Rasa) have laid out the terms and conditions of selling alcohol at a recognised food outlet. The rules, approved by the National Coronavirus Command Centre (NCCC), include the following.

• Any restaurant that has the relevant licence is permitted to trade as an “off-con outlet” and may sell liquor to customers.
• No-one is allowed to drink alcohol on the premises, though. It’s delivery and takeaway only.
• All alcohol sold by restaurants must be provided in a sealed container.
• Staff are required to present card terminals to customers, and sanitise the device after transactions are completed.
• A strict ‘one person in, one person out’ rule applies for collection. A distance of 1.5m between all people must be maintained.
• The industry is being asked to ‘self-regulate’, allowing each restaurant to place their own limits on how much alcohol each customer can purchase. These rules will come into effect on Monday 1 June.

Level 3 may also bring ‘sit-in meals’ back to the table

Indeed, there may be more good news for restaurants in the weeks to come. After having their trade restricted for the best part of 10 weeks, it seems that the tourism ministry is fighting to allow sit-down meals at certain venues. Paired with permission to sell alcohol, these businesses could soon benefit from two major lifelines. On Saturday, Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane was quoted as saying:

“We are in discussions with restaurants so that whatever solution is provided in this regard for sit-down doesn’t perpetuate the inequality, and we are confident that in our next submission to NCCC this will be considered. Once this has been considered by the NCCC, we will be able to make pronouncements.”

Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane