Serving alcohol at dine-in restaurants— is a separate issue

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Restaurants approved by the COVID-19 Task Force to provide dine-in service, are also required to submit a plan for approval if they are going to also serve alcoholic beverages inside their place of business, as the government does not want restaurants licensed to serve alcohol to became a full-fledged bar, with people gathering to party.

This is one of the issues the news media raised with Lt. Gov. Talauega Eleasalo Ale, during Monday’s task force virtual news conference, after concerns and complaints surfaced that restaurants approved for dine-in service under current COVID-19 Declaration restrictions, were prohibited from serving alcohol.

One customer told Samoa News earlier this week of visiting a restaurant, that was given approval to open indoor dining, and observed others getting alcoholic beverages from the restaurant’s bar. However, it’s now prohibited “without an explanation from the task force,” according to the customer, who claimed to have also ordered a glass of wine at the time and received it without any problem.

A restaurant operator complained that the task force policies did not make clear from the start when reopening indoor dining that “we as a restaurant licensed to serve alcohol, are not allowed to do so.”

Talauega, who is also the Governor’s Authorized Representative (GAR), was asked during the news conference why it is that restaurants with bar-service are not allowed to serve alcohol, as they have already been approved by the task force and Homeland Security Department team to operate dine-in service.

According to the Lt. Governor, restaurants need to work with the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) on their plans to operate and probably the next  COVID-19 declaration will ease some of those restrictions.

“But at this point, we’re requiring restaurants to work” with American Samoa’s Territorial Coordinating Officer (TCO), Samana Semo Ve’ave’a — who is also the local Homeland Security director — and his team “to make sure they get the appropriate approval and within that approval — depending on the situation of the restaurant — they will either be provided with authority to serve alcohol or not,” Talauega explained.

“So it’s not [an] across the board approval. Each restaurant needs to work with us to make sure that there are safety requirements in place,” he said and declared that “we don’t want to open up alcohol in restaurants, turning it into people going into restaurants at 8a.m. to just have a big feast and a party there.”

“That’s not the intent.

“If somebody wants to have a glass of wine with his/ her meal, then I think that’s totally appropriate,” he pointed out. “And we want to make sure that those restrictions are in place, so that our restaurants can serve our people with their needs.”

However, he reiterated, “We don’t want to open it so that people can use it as a way to turn the restaurant into a bar — so that’s why there’s restrictions there.

“We ask the restaurant owners to work with the TCO and our team, the task force to make sure that we’re all working together and on the same page that we don’t have to close down any businesses.”

Under current COVID-19 declaration restrictions, “bars” are among the activities and businesses prohibited from reopening.

On a follow-up media question for clarification on whether restaurants, are currently allowed to serve alcohol — if such places are licensed for it — Talauega responded, “that will be up to our team at the EOC who are granting the approvals based on the plans that are submitted by the restaurants.”

“So with those plans, includes the service of alcohol then — depending on the response from the team — then those restaurants will be allowed to serve alcohol,” he said. “But the restaurants that did not provide or request it [approval to serve alcohol], it’s the expectation that they don’t serve until they get the approval.”

He was also asked about the rational, or the science, behind this decision, to which Talauega said, “We don’t want people to go to the restaurant and convert it into a bar.”

“We’re still under restrictions based on the COVID surge and we are very fortunate that we’re at the situation we are,” he noted. “It could have very easily turned back to more cases and more deaths.”

Talauega noted that “we all know very well, the influence of alcohol in anybody’s system can lead to cases where they don’t want to obey or thinking is affected, and lead to more problems. So we are asking our people to bear with us and abide by the regulations that we provide.”

“These [rules] may not seem particularly relevant or important to many folks, but these are regulations or rules put in place based on the advice of our medical team.

So the rational behind this decision, is that “we want to make sure that folks have the opportunity to go out and have a meal. And if they want to have a glass of wine with it, or a beer, fine,” said Talauega who is also the task force chairman.

“But having people go out to the restaurants and convert it into a bar — where full drinking and no observation of our requirements, masking and social distancing — that’s a real concern to our health situation and to our public safety situation,” he declared.

After the news conference, streamed live on KVZK-TV Facebook page, some residents reached out to Samoa News saying they agree with Talauega’s explanation, to protect the health and safety of the community.

However, others, including restaurant operators, complained that the government should have made clear from the beginning about the prohibition on serving alcohol in restaurants for dine-in service, instead of making decisions “as they go along, and decisions where they see  [these decisions] fit their agenda.”