On March 23, 2018, Governor Rick Scott signed House Bill 1447 into law, paving the way for easier access to alcoholic beverage licenses for restaurants located in certain parts of downtown Orlando. The new law establishes a “Downtown Restaurant Area” in Orlando, lowering the burden for obtaining an alcoholic beverage license for downtown-area restaurants. Specifically, restaurants located in the new Downtown Restaurant Area are now only required to have 1,800 square feet of contiguous space (instead of 2,500 square feet) and be equipped to serve meals to 80 persons at one time (instead of 150 persons). The existing requirement that restaurants maintain on a monthly basis at least 51 percent of their overall revenue from the sale of food and nonalcoholic beverages remains unchanged. A copy of HB 1447 can be found here.
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