§ 4-110. Same—Bona fide restaurants.

(a)

A bona fide restaurant, as defined in this section, shall be permitted to serve alcoholic beverages in dining areas as an accompaniment to food on Sundays but only between the hours of 12:00 noon and 12:00 midnight. Such a restaurant, however, may serve only the types of alcoholic beverages that it is licensed to serve at other times.

(b)

Any bona fide restaurant desiring to serve alcoholic beverages on Sundays in accordance with this section shall first apply to the administrator for a Sunday alcoholic beverage permit for restaurants. Any applicant for such a permit shall furnish such information relative to its operations as may be required by the administrator including, but not necessarily limited to, information as to its gross sales of alcoholic beverages as opposed to food sales and copies of the establishment owner's federal and state income tax returns for three years preceding the date of the application. The administrator shall arrange for a representative of the parish to inspect the applicant's premises to determine whether a bona fide restaurant is being operated on such premises. If the administrator is satisfied that a bona fide restaurant is being operated on the premises of the applicant, he shall issue a Sunday alcoholic beverage permit for restaurants which shall be displayed in a conspicuous place on the premises of the applicant. Any permit issued pursuant to this section shall be subject to revocation or suspension for any grounds that a dealer's basic liquor permit may be revoked or suspended and also if the applicant should fail to continue to operate a bona fide restaurant.

(c)

If the administrator denies an application on the basis that the applicant is not operating a bona fide restaurant, the administrator shall give written notice to the applicant of the denial of the application and the grounds therefor. Any applicant aggrieved by the decision of the administrator may, within ten days from the date such decision is rendered, appeal to the parish commission by filing a written request with the commission clerk for a review of such decision. The commission shall within 45 days hold a hearing on the appeal. After public hearing on the appeal, the commission may by majority vote of the entire commission reverse the decision of the administrator. In the event of such a reversal, the administrator shall issue the applied-for permit to the applicant.

(d)

For the purpose of this article, a "bona fide restaurant" is defined as an establishment that shall have been operated continuously as a restaurant for at least 90 days prior to the date of its application for a Sunday alcoholic beverage permit for restaurants. However, to qualify as a bona fide restaurant, the establishment's gross revenues from the sale of food during such 90-day period must have exceeded its receipts from the sale and dispensing of alcoholic beverages. If an establishment has a separate but adjoining cocktail lounge as part of its premises, the gross sale of the cocktail lounge shall be excluded in determining whether the establishment meets the requirement that its food sales exceed its sale of alcoholic beverages, and in such cases, only the gross sales of food and beverages in the dining room areas of the establishment shall be considered. After the issuance of the permit, the establishment's food sales must at all times exceed its sales of alcoholic beverages for the establishment to be considered a bona fide restaurant.

(e)

If an establishment desires to serve alcoholic beverages on Sunday in accordance with this section prior to its qualification as a bona fide restaurant, the administrator may issue a temporary permit, which shall be valid for 90 days, to allow the establishment to make such determination. In order to qualify for the issuance of a temporary permit, the applicant must establish, to the satisfaction of the administrator, the following:

(1)

The establishment is a place of business whose intended purpose and primary function is to take orders for and serve food and food items;

(2)

The establishment serves alcoholic beverages in conjunction with meals;

(3)

The establishment serves food on all days of operation;

(4)

The establishment operates a fully equipped kitchen used for the preparation of uncooked foods for service and consumption of such foods on the premises; and

(5)

The establishment has been certified by the local health department showing compliance with all health and sanitary requirements.

In lieu of the provisions set out in this subsection, for a restaurant owned by the same individual, partnership, corporation, or other legal entity, the applicant shall provide information to the administrator relative to the operation of the other restaurants relative to its gross sales of alcoholic beverages as opposed to food sales for the three years preceding the date of application.

(f)

If a restaurant with a separate cocktail lounge desires to sell alcoholic beverages pursuant to this article, it must close and lock the cocktail lounge at 4:01 a.m. on Sunday and not reopen the cocktail lounge until 5:59 a.m. on Monday. However, such cocktail lounge may be open during such hours authorized by and under a permit issued pursuant to section 4-112. If the restaurant has a bar for service of alcoholic beverages in the dining area, which bar is not regularly and customarily used for dining purposes, the bar shall be used only as a service bar for the dining area on Sunday; and no alcoholic beverages shall be dispensed to the patrons from the bar itself but only in dining areas by a waiter or waitress.

(g)

Any Sunday alcoholic beverage permit issued pursuant to this section shall expire at the same time as the current basic liquor permit that the applicant obtained from the parish. However, the Sunday alcoholic beverage permit for restaurants may be renewed from year to year if the basic permit is renewed and if the applicant still operates a bona fide restaurant as defined in this section. The annual fee for the issuance of a Sunday alcoholic beverage permit for restaurants shall be $125.00 which shall be paid by certified funds in cash to the administrator.

(Code 1985, § 3-67.2; Ord. No. 2985, 8-11-1993; Ord. No. 5750-2017 , 1-4-2018)