Should I stay or should I go? While this popular question may remind most people of the famous 1981 hit by The Clash, for those holding retail liquor licenses this question has harbored newfound uncertainty due to the restrictions upon on-premises consumption brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The restrictions placed upon both on-premises dining and consumption of alcoholic beverages by the COVID-19 pandemic have caused many retail licensees to adopt "house rules" whereby the on-premises consumption of alcoholic beverages is dissuaded by various practices. One such practice became the basis for a Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (the board) decision whereby the board reinstated a citation issued by the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement (the bureau) against a retail licensee who maintained a practice of requiring the purchase of food in order to purchase alcohol for on-premises consumption, while not applying the same requirement for off-premises consumption of the same beverage. See Pennsylvania State Police, Bureau of Liquor Enforcement v. Rinku, Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board (2021) (Rinku). However, before discussing the specifics of the case, it is important to provide context on the term "retail licensee." Retail licensee is commonly used to refer to either an Eating Place Retail Dispenser License (E Licensee) or a Restaurant Liquor License (R Licensee). While both of these licensees serve the primary purpose of providing food to the public, they differ in that an R Licensee may serve liquor, wine and beer products, while an E Licensee may only sell beer or its variants. However, both E and R Licensees are prohibited from selling any single, open container of alcoholic beverage for consumption outside the establishment. An R Licensee may be an elegant up-scale restaurant or a simple corner bar. An E Licensee is typically a corner store or gas station.