Worcester Business Journal

12 Worcester Business Journal | September 27, 2021 | wbjournal.com Hardly happy H appy Hour has long been depicted as a time for fun, celebration, and most importantly, discounted drinks. Aer being banned for almost 40 years in Massachusetts, multiple attempts to reverse the state's stance on Happy Hour have failed, but two new efforts are picking up momentum. State Rep. Mike Connolly (D-Cambridge) has draed a bill to allow for Happy Hours, while separately a Westborough lawyer named Nicholas Silveira has created a Happy Hour petition for a 2022 ballot initiative, which was certified by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office in September. "I pray it does not pass," said David Domenick, owner of Compass Tavern in Worcester. Even though Happy Hours provide bars and restaurants the opportunity to bring in patrons during traditionally slower times, Central Massachusetts restaurateurs have been far from universal in their embrace of the proposed change, even as the majority of the public appears to favor it. Business owners worry about the liability of customers overindulging, as well as lower costs for the products with some of the highest profit margins. "Giving alcohol for free does not help the restaurants recover from the pandemic," said Steve Clark, vice president of government affairs for the trade group Massachusetts Restaurant Association. Undoing the ban In 1984, Massachusetts became the first state to ban Happy Hour when then-Gov. Michael Dukakis eliminated the practice aer a series of high-profile drunk driving cases with fatalities, notably Kathleen Barry of Weymouth, who was killed when a drunk driver hit and dragged the 20 year old for 50 feet. In addition to Massachusetts, Happy Hour is currently banned in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Maine, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Utah, and Vermont. e Happy Hour debate intensified in July with the release of a study from e MassINC Polling Group, a Boston- based polling firm, showing 70% of Massachusetts residents polled either strongly support or somewhat support bringing back Happy Hour, with only 20% survey takers against the practice. In his legislative attempt to bring back Happy Hours, Rep. Connolly said he wants to help the hospitality industry recover further from the coronavirus pandemic and plans on having a public process for restaurant leaders and advocates like Mothers Against Drunk Driving to discuss the best approach forward. "I want to approach this in a way so public safety is at the forefront," Connolly said. "One of the misconceptions may be this sort of free-for-all, no-holds-barred vision of what Happy Hour might be and certainly, I do not anticipate that would be what any sort of consensus based recommendation might be." e bill is slated for a committee hearing later this fall or early next year, Connolly said. For the ballot measure, Silveira needs to collect the signatures of 80,239 registered voters by Dec. 1 before it can be considered before voters in November 2022. He said the ban on promotional drinking is outdated, particularly with services like ride- sharing available to allow people who overindulge to get home safely. "e end goal of obviously preventing motor vehicle homicides, or deaths, by way of drunk driving, I think there are many more efficient, more direct ways of curbing those activities in 2021 than there were in 1984," said Silveira, who sees Happy Hours as a way to help restaurants recover from the pandemic. Lukewarm reception from restaurants Jared Forman, chef and owner of deadhorse hill in Worcester, said aer his research into the Happy Hour petition, he finds himself at a crossroads. As a business owner, Forman believes any tool in a restaurant's repertoire to help them encourage patronage is valuable. rough his own research, he did not find any statistics showing a concrete correlation between Happy Hour and an increase in drunk driving. As a self-proclaimed upscale restaurant whose staff is careful not to over-serve patrons, Forman would appreciate the opportunity to have creative and fun promotions to make his price points more accessible to the general public. However, he does not F O O D , D R I N K & B R E W E R I E S FOCUS Central Mass. restaurants are hesitant about the two latest efforts to repeal the nearly 40-year-old ban on Happy Hours BY SLOANE M. PERRON Worcester Business Journal Staff Writer David Domenick, owner of Compass Tavern in Worcester Jared Forman, co-owner of Worcester restaurant deadhorse hill PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT PHOTO/MATT WRIGHT

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