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Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed HB975 into law Monday, modernizing a Virginia liquor regulation that hadn't been substantively updated in more than 35 years — and the push that finally got it across the finish line started in Alexandria.
Sen. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, who took up a cause many had tried and failed to advance for decades, told the crowd at the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce's annual General Assembly Breakfast on March 19 that the effort was rooted in a conversation with a local small business struggling to stay in the city. She credited former delegate and former owner of Captain Gregory's, Rob Krupicka, for championing the issue.
Brandon McDermott, Captain Gregory's managing partner, told The Alexandria Brief by email on Thursday that Krupicka "has been pretty vocal and instrumental in pushing for change on this matter both when owner of Captain Gregory's and even now after getting out."
Krupicka told The Alexandria Brief by email on Thursday that Virginia's spirits laws were originally designed to protect larger establishments but had grown increasingly misaligned with how consumers actually drink. "Virginia's outdated spirits laws were originally designed to protect larger businesses and restaurants," he said. "As consumer demands and interests have evolved, mostly the growing popularity of cocktails over wine and beer, these regulations have become increasingly problematic for a wide variety of establishments. This change will allow entrepreneurial chefs and unique restaurant concepts a much better chance of success in the Commonwealth. In the past, many innovative businesses chose to open in D.C. due to Virginia's restrictive laws; I hope this update encourages more of them to establish themselves here."
What the old law required — and why it broke down
Under Virginia's Mixed Beverage Annual Review requirement, restaurants holding a mixed beverage license have had to certify annually that at least 45% of their total gross monthly sales come from food and non-alcoholic beverages. The law had been on the books for 38 years. Critically, the ratio is calculated without wine and beer — meaning only spirits count against it, a structural design that increasingly misfires in an era of craft cocktail culture and premium spirits.
Multiple efforts to change the rule in recent years had failed. Bennett-Parker made the stakes concrete at the Chamber breakfast with a pair of examples. Two $20 cocktails and a $25 burger does not meet the ratio. A $50 pour of bourbon requires a restaurant to sell five to 10 times as much food as a lower-end spirit would.
In her newsletter on Thursday, she added another dimension: a $5 pour of bourbon and a $50 pour are the same amount of alcohol, but they land a restaurant in very different places when calculating compliance — a dynamic that has only grown more punishing as demand for rare and limited-edition spirits has grown. For establishments trying to compete with D.C. bars doing craft cocktails or high-end spirits — where no such requirement exists across the river — the regulation puts them at a structural disadvantage. "Our businesses are at a disadvantage," she said at the breakfast.
What the new law does
HB975 replaces the flat 45% threshold with a tiered system tied to monthly food sales. Restaurants, caterers, and limited caterers with more than $48,000 in average monthly food sales are exempt from any ratio requirement. Those averaging $25,000 to $48,000 face a reduced 30% threshold. Only establishments with less than $25,000 in average monthly food sales remain subject to the original 45% rule — with one carve-out: small venues with fewer than 30 seats and an occupancy permit under 60 people drop to 30% as well.
That provision stood out to McDermott as the bill's most significant detail. "It's good to see common sense legislation pass and even more so something that removes unnecessary hurdles for businesses," McDermott said. "The exciting part to me is the 30-seat or less carve-out that removes the barriers and the burdens of high food sales for small intimate creative concepts."
The bill also codifies a seating requirement, specifying that restaurants must have at least as many seats at tables as at counters — a provision that clarifies the definition of a qualifying restaurant under the mixed beverage license structure.
The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority is required to collect compliance data and report findings on how the ratio change affects the gross amount of food consumed on licensed premises to the chairs of the relevant House and Senate committees by Nov. 1, 2027 — building in a review mechanism before any further changes are considered.
The bill passed the House 87-10 and cleared the Senate 35-4. Bennett-Parker said at the breakfast the bill passed with wide enough margins that she was optimistic the governor would sign it - a prediction that proved accurate. The Department of Planning and Budget found no material fiscal impact on state agency operations.
The law takes effect July 1.
Three sessions in the making
Bennett-Parker noted in her newsletter that an ABC official told her just last year he thought it might take another generation to change the law. Many had tried before her. She took it on and got it done, crediting Krupicka and Alexandria's small business community for keeping the pressure on.
A broader session to celebrate
HB975 was one of several Bennett-Parker bills signed by the governor this week. Two others she cited as long-sought wins: HB4, which gives localities the right of first refusal to purchase affordable housing units before affordability restrictions expire — targeting roughly 17,000 apartments statewide at risk in the coming years — and HB93, which closes a loophole that had allowed convicted domestic abusers to retain access to firearms. Bennett-Parker said she introduced both bills for three years running.
Also signed were HB94, supporting disabled veterans; HB380, requiring training materials on celiac disease be provided to restaurants; HB381, requiring medical examiners and funeral homes to notify next-of-kin when a body is transferred with a retained organ following an autopsy; HB383, exempting small businesses that offer short workshops from regulation as colleges and universities; and HB385, allowing ABC employees to conduct tastings.
Two additional bills — HB95, which would prevent evictions by offering payment plans to tenants who owe one month or less of rent, and HB379, which would require upfront disclosure of eligibility criteria in rental applications — came back with proposed amendments from the governor and will be taken up when the General Assembly reconvenes on Wednesday.
This story has been updated to include comment from Captain Gregory's Managing Partner Brandon McDermott and former owner Rob Krupicka.
