Second Street An American Bistro’s owners also own a winery in California, and beginning July 1, they can sell the wine from that winery at their restaurant.
They had been prohibited from doing so due to the so-called “tied house” rule—state and federal law requires alcoholic beverage manufacturers to sell to suppliers who then sell to retailers. These laws prohibited anyone from being involved on more than one tier of the system. The passage of the new law, which was sponsored by Del. Mike Watson (R-James City County), allows wine from an out-of-state winery owned by a Virginia restaurateur to be sold at the restaurant.
Mickey and John Chohany own Second Street An American Bistro in Williamsburg and Aratas Winery in Napa, Calif. The passage of the new law allows them to sell their Petite Sirah at the Williamsburg restaurant.
“Many individuals circumvent the law by placing different family members in the ownership of one business and other members in another business,” said Mickey Chohany in a news release. “We elected to not be deceptive, but rather work within the boundaries of the law and work on legislation that is more current with today’s commerce and the needs of businesses as a whole.”
The bill allowing the exception to the three-tier rule steamrolled through the General Assembly, where it passed the House of Delegates on a 98-0 vote and the Senate on a 40-0 vote. It also requires the wine to first be sold to a Virginia wholesaler before it can be purchased by the restaurant.
You can visit the website for Aratas Winery by clicking here.
