Whiskey Bear bar owner says waiving alcohol renewal fees will save thousands for businesses

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – Whiskey Bear bar owner says a change for alcohol licenses during the pandemic will save businesses like his thousands of dollars.

On Thursday, Governor Andy Beshear announced the state is waiving the alcohol license renewal fee for bars and restaurants in the state to help give some financial relief during the pandemic.

Bars and restaurants are still required to operate at 50 percent capacity, as well as adhere to an 11 p.m. ‘last call’ rule.

Daniel Marlowe owns Whiskey Bear with his wife. He says anything helps, but still there’s still a lot to overcome, especially considering the Governor’s Red Zone recommendations.

Governor Beshear has asked people not to ‘dine-in’ at bars or restaurants and only do take out if your county is marked as having a high spread, like Fayette County is experiencing.

“He’s asking people not to come out to bars, so you know we think that everybody’s going to make their own decisions for what’s best for their health we’re certainly going to do our part to make sure that our staff and our guests feel safe, and to the best of our extent we will keep them safe everywhere we can,” Marlowe said.

Marlowe says his bar has constantly adjusted to the pandemic. The most recent addition is Plexiglas at the bar to be able to safely provide more seating.

As winter approaches he says he’s nervous for a lot of businesses and is looking to implement a heating element in his own patio.

Even in Red Zones, Marlowe says there are still ways to support local.

“Keep up the fight, you know, wear a mask, do the best you can to help each other out, but also go support your local businesses, those are the ones that might not be here at the end of the winter,” he said.