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St. Tammany Parish bars cleared to serve alcohol for on-premise consumption

'Opening another sector of our economy is a big win for us'

NEW ORLEANS — Bars in St. Tammany Parish can now reopen for on-premise consumption starting Wednesday under specific guidelines. Parish President Mike Cooper made the request to opt-in for bars to reopen to the Governor’s office on Tuesday as he expected the parish to qualify under the phase 3 guidelines. Wednesday the amended executive order to was signed officiating the change. 

“Opening another sector of our economy is a big win for us, and for the businesses who will get to open their doors to the public again. We were set to proceed as quickly as possible to do so,” said Cooper. “As I have said since this pandemic began, my goal is to balance the health of the community with the health of our economy.”

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The parish has been below the 5% positivity rate for two weeks now. For the week of Sept. 17  the parish had a positivity rate of 3.5%  and for week Sept. 24 they had a positivity rate of 4.3%. As long as St. Tammany Parish stays below 10% positivity going forward, bars can remain open for on-premise consumption. If the parish sees a rate higher than 10% bars will have to stop on-premise serving until they see a rate lower than 5% for two consecutive weeks again.

For bars wanting to reopen for customers to enjoy services on-premise these are the guidelines they must follow:

  • Customers must be seated for table service and stay seated
  • Bar capacities are 25% with a maximum of 50 people inside and a maximum of 50 people outside
  • Bars must end alcohol sales and close to customers by 11 p.m.
  • Restaurant capacities are 75% with alcohol sales ending at 11 p.m.
  • In restaurants, all alcohol sales must be accompanied by food sales
  • Masking is required for all when not consuming food or beverage
  • Live music is allowed outside only
  • Bar games, including but not limited to pool, darts, shuffleboard and cornhole, are prohibited

   

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