Bars in NC making upgrades to comply with new health requirements
RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Many bars in North Carolina will be subject to new food-safety requirements this year, as owners consider whether to make costly upgrades to be able to keep serving food to customers.
Under a new law, bars that serve Temperature Control for Safety food will be required to obtain a permit similar to what restaurants must already do and undergo inspections.
The change in (the law) will provide affected bars the benefit of standards that better protect the public from foodborne illness,” wrote N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services spokesperson Kelly Haight in an email. She added that bars considered private clubs remain exempt.
The new law also does not apply to bars that serve non-TCS food such as nuts or bars that only use TCS food as a garnish on drinks.
The state has made changes recently to how a bar is legally defined and what establishments are considered private.
Once that occurred, Jason Ruth, co-executive director of the N.C. Bar Owners Association, said his group anticipated the state would change the requirements for bars to match restaurants, removing an exemption the bars had from inspections.
“It’s hard to make an argument to be completely honest that you should be allowed to serve oysters and steaks and lobsters, as an example, and not have the same regulation that a restaurant has. And, it is in the interest of the public for those people to be protected,” said Ruth.
Regarding the exemption that had been in place, Ruth said, “I think the (General Assembly) probably did not intend that. So, it’s probably a course correction to be completely honest with you.”
He said a key concern many bar owners had was the cost to improve their facilities to meet the state’s standards for restaurants and to complete that work by Jan. 1, when the law was set to take effect.
The state has extended the deadline to March 27, Haight said.
“This is going to put a very big price tag on the folks who are serving food across the state in the bar industry. And, we did as well as we could and worked with DHHS on this. It was an inevitable reality that was going to occur,” said Ruth.
Randy Wilson, who owns Sharky’s Place in Raleigh, said it’ll cost him thousands of dollars to make the renovations and other changes necessary to continue serving food.
He said he’ll have to knock down walls to expand his kitchen, make the bathrooms brighter, get new flooring the cooler and get updated architectural drawings of the bar, among other things.
“What’s gonna happen is, I think, more unintended consequences. People will have to close their kitchens without being able to afford new walls, new equipment,” he said.
Wilson said he supports taking steps to ensure food safety but has also grown frustrated by the state’s regulations changing more than once.
“You play by the rules, but they constantly over the last couple of years change the rules faster than you can keep up with them,” he said.
He also pointed out many in the industry have struggled since the COVID-19 pandemic and now face the prospect of this added cost.
Health officials say the new regulations will also give customers more information about places where they choose to eat.
“They should see a sanitation card prominently displayed at the front of the bar that shows it is permitted, it’s been inspected,” Chrystal Swinger, director of environmental health for the Mecklenburg County Health Dept., told Queen City News.
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