Laws about minors in "bars": Washington/Oregon

I, too, would love for clarification on this. Been in Elliott Bay Brewing in West Seattle several times with our baby. Randomly turned away at other places. Able to enter Super Deli Mart (beer on tap) but unable to enter Bottleworks.

 

There are various licenses. If you have a "tavern" license, you can only serve beer, wine and cider, and minors aren't allowed in at all. A "full service" (I'm not sure of the actual license name) means you have to serve a certain number of "meals" ( I worked at a bar once that had a nice pizza oven and we made pizza's, calzones, salads and a few sandwiches. None of these items met the LCB's definition of a "meal". We kept 5 different frozen TV dinners in the freezer. Those did meet the LCB's definition of a meal. Go figure.) and have a separate dining area. The separation can be something as simple as a railing, it just has to be a clear dividing line.

There were changes made last year for beer stores. If a store got a Tavern license, they could sell beer by the glass as well as beer to go, but you couldn't take your kids in. If they had a retail license,you could take kids in, but not serve on-premise. They changed that now so that you can take kids into stores to buy off-premise beer and drink on premise while you're there.

So basically, if you serve spirits, you must serve "meals" (even clubs like the Showbox, which don't have kitchens, have their 5 TV dinners in a freezer to meet that requirement. There was talk of creating a "Cabaret" license which would cover this and exclude them, but I don't know if that's happened.), and can allow minors in a separate dining room. If you're just a "beer bar", you're exempt from the food requirements, but minors can't come in at all. Hope this helps. I need a beer after thinking about this.

 

beertunes is correct..it's all about which license the establishment has. Here is a reference for the different types: http://www.liq.wa.gov/licensing/available-license-types

and yes... a metal railing that is 36" or 40" high qualifies as a separation.

 

Okay, so now can someone explain Oregon? Why do some establishments allow minors until 6 vs 8 vs 10?

 

The OLCC requires minors to be out by 10pm (unless it's changed recently), but it's up to the establishment to determine exactly when they want to go kid free. Generally speaking, family-oriented places (like HUB and Laurelwood) tend to allow kids as late as possible to capture as much available business as they can, while other places that are more alcohol-focused (like the Horsebrass) tend to go kid free earlier in the evening so that they can attract people who don't want to be surrounded by children while they get drunk.

 

What beertunes said.

One thing that bugs me, and I assume has nothing to do with liquor laws, is when a place has happy hour in the bar but regular pricing in the restaurant. It's like a fee for having kids with you.

 

It's not a kid penalty, but a way to drive business to the bar. I think a lot of bars would like to get rid of Happy Hours, but it's the kind of thing they think they have to do because everyone else is doing it. It's funny sometimes to see people come into a bar 10 minutes after HH and get mad because they don't get their Fifty cents or a buck off a drink, but it can frustrate staff.

 

Not sure the reasons why, but here in Oregon No Food = No Kids. Oakshire has sandwiches shipped in on Saturdays so kids can come to the brewery with their parents. 16 Tons in Eugene had to shut out minors when they got their taps because they didn't serve food.

 

It's unlikely that any of these places are going to start having uniform family-friendly hours, so I would suggest keeping a mental note or even a real list of places on your smartphone that you want to frequent and the hours in which kids are allowed.

I'll start (off the top of my head):

Naked City allows kids at all hours in designated areas
Big Time allows kids until 9 pm (or 8?) but not in the bar area
Hudson allows kids at all hours in designated areas
The Red Door allows kids at all hours in designated areas
Tangletown allows kids at all hours in designated areas
Barking Dog Alehouse allows kids at all hours in designated areas
Roosevelt Ale House allows kids at all hours in designated areas

Brouwer's does not allow kids
74th Street Ale House does not allow kids
Uber Tavern does not allow kids
Duck Island does not allow kids
Cooper's Alehouse does not allow kids

Fremont Brewing/Urban Beer Garden allows kids (and leashed dogs) at all hours in all areas

 

Interesting article posted recently

http://www.seattleweekly.com/2012-02-08/food/where-to-drink-with-your-kids/

 

I grew up in England, and everyone takes their kid to the pub. If you have a meal, you can buy your >14 year old a beer to have with his meal.
This countrys so crazy about booze they card 30 year olds for a mere pint.....

 

I had this happen to me in Portland with my infant daughter. I had no idea that a 8 week old baby in a "resturant" setting was considered a drinking minor. I was pretty pissed.

This never made sense to me. It's not like a baby is going to drink. I took my daughter to Deschutes and HotD all the time. Wendy started to remember her name because we were there so much. The food selection is pretty limited there as well. Deschutes on the other hand is often packed with kids.

If a business owner wants to keep kids out, and miss out on business, then that is what they are doing.