Omnivore Atlanta

I recently reported rumors that the City of Atlanta is enforcing archaic laws that prohibit restaurants from using wine specials to entice diners on slow nights. Some commenters clarified that these laws apply to bars as well and they outlaw “happy hours” and any kind of nightly drink special.

Kindly, Mazie Lynn Causey, an attorney with a non profit agency, wrote me the following:

“Recent Omnivore posts got me curious. Here are some of the Atlanta ordinances at issue, regarding special beverage pricing on any given night. (Oh, and thanks for your consistent promotion of Dynamic Dish, I work across the street, and though my non-profit salary does not afford me to dine there as often as I’d prefer…I love having the option of great food and the kindness of David and his staff.)”

Sec. 10-226. Certain promotions prohibited:

(a) All on-premises alcoholic beverage licensees are prohibited from selling or
giving away alcoholic beverages under the following circumstances:
(1) Serving multiple drinks for a single price or offering all you can drink for
a set price.
(2) Making a single price the basis for a required purchase of two or more servings.
(3) Serving alcoholic beverages by the pitcher, except to two or more persons
at any one time.
(4) Offering to any person or group of persons any alcoholic beverage at a price
less than the price regularly charged for such alcoholic beverage during the same
calendar week.
(6) Offering or delivering any free alcoholic beverage to any person or group
of persons.
(7) Increasing the volume of distilled spirit, malt beverage or wine contained
in an alcoholic beverage without increasing proportionally the price regularly charged
for such alcoholic beverage during the same calendar week.
(5) Using coupons or other special promotional items as an inducement to purchase
alcoholic beverages.
(b) This section shall not apply to private functions not open to the public.
The term “private function not open to the public” means any function
wherein the licensee has agreed to the use of licensee’s establishment by a
person for a set period of time for valuable consideration.
(Code 1977, § 14-2148; Ord. No. 2004-12, §§ 1, 2, 3-9-04)

“And they can’t even credit a cover toward drink prices:”

Sec. 10-219. Purchase price of drinks credited against admission or cover charge.
No licensee for the sale of alcoholic beverages by the drink shall authorize or
permit the purchase price of any alcoholic beverage sold by the licensee to a customerto be credited against any minimum, admission or cover charge imposed upon the customerby the licensee.
(Code 1977, § 14-2136)

“Gender-related covers might come under fire too…and maybe they should:”

Sec. 10-224. Discrimination in admission fees or membership fees; notice of admission charges or membership fees.
(a) No retail licensee, licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, who requires an admission fee or periodic membership fee before permitting any person to enter the licensed premises shall discriminate as to the amount of such fees because of any person’s race, color, creed, religion, sex, domestic relationship status, parental status, familial status, sexual orientation, national origin, gender identity, disability or age, except that nothing in this provision shall prohibit the imposition of age limits up to 21.
(b) Any retail licensee, licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, who requires an admission fee or periodic membership fee as a condition of admission of any person to the licensed premises shall prominently display, unobstructed in a place clearly visible at the point of entry, a sign setting forth the amount of the admission fee or periodic membership applicable to all patrons, as well for the time at which application for any membership may be required.
(Code 1977, § 14-2146; Ord. No. 2000-78, 12-12-00)
Cross references: Discrimination generally, § 94-66 et seq.

(Images of Mayor Shirley Franklin impersonating famous prohibitionist Carrie Nation from the Library of Congress collection.)

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Jennifer Zyman, the Blissful Glutton, recently returned from a trip to San Francisco and she recorded every bite of food. Check out her blog here, and scroll down a bit to find the San Francisco material. Jennifer reports that she is sick with pneumonia. Get well soon, Jennifer.

Dynamic Dish continues to draw raves from everyone who visits. I took picky friends there last week for lunch and they were awestruck. Besides the food, we enjoyed our server Paul, a deaf comedian. The proprietors of RowdyFood.com and DirtySouthWine.com had dinner there recently and both recounted their experiences, here and here, respectively. They’ve renamed the cafe “Dynamic Dave’s” after the owner, David Sweeney. Even the devoted carnivore named Steakhead raved about the place on his Atlanta Eats blog.

The foodies at AtlantaCuisine.com are promoting their favorite dive bars, past and present, in this thread. It’s like a road map of the years I used to drink.

Cathy, of Live to Nibble, has a great post on Huong Giang, a Vietnamese restaurant on Buford Highway. Cathy reports that the restaurant has deviated from its focus on Hue cuisine by adding pho to its menu. Check out her interesting post here.

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