Providing huge relief to brewers in California’s most populated county, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to change its reopening guidelines to allow breweries to use a third-party vendor for food service. The county had been the strictest in the state, lagging behind the statewide guidelines and forcing most breweries to close for onsite sales.
State guidelines currently allow breweries to be open for onsite sales as long as food is served in conjunction with beer sales. Meals can be provided by a third-party vendor such as a food truck. LA county guidelines however required food to be prepared in an onsite kitchen, which most breweries do not have. As a result, the guidelines resulted in an almost complete shutdown of most of the craft breweries in the county.
Under pressure from the local brewing community, the County Board of Supervisors voted to align the county’s guidelines with those of the State and allow breweries to serve food prepared by vendors. LA county has a population of slightly over 10 million people.