Nothing from the bar: Utah booze rules.

• Author: Ross, John K.
• Position: Citings - Brief article

UTAH ALCOHOL regulators are cracking down on restaurants that offer diners drinks while they browse the menu. State law forbids serving alcohol "except in connection with an order for food" but until recently the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (DABC) interpreted that to mean a drink before order hag was fine.

Then regulators changed their minds. After conducting a series of undercover sting operations, the DABC fined nine restaurants in December--compared to five in the previous IX months and just one in 2011. The violations carry fines of $300 to $5,000 and can result in a suspended liquor license.

Restaurant owners want to know what's behind the policy change, but regulators claim they are just enforcing the law as written. "I have heard from quite a few licensees...