In Virginia, happy hour must end at 9 p.m. Some Richmond restaurants want to change that.

Since 1985, happy hour in Virginia has had a hard cutoff of 9 p.m. 

Drinks can — and certainly in Richmond do — flow in abundance as soon as the clock ticks past the hour. But you have to pay full price for them. 

Now, however, a number of Richmond businesses are joining a push by the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association to change the state’s ABC rules to allow establishments to extend happy hour to as late as midnight. Last month, the hospitality advocacy organization filed a formal petition with the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority asking it to consider the shift. 

“This is the modern era,” said Natalie McNamara, CEO and managing partner of the Hofheimer. “Things have changed.” 

Other area establishments that have filed formal comments in support of the change include Quirk Hotel, Common House, Shamin Hotels and Glory Days Grill, which has outposts in Glen Allen and Midlothian. 

“I think it’s a great idea to allow the late night happy hour,” said Liz Kincaid, CEO of RVA Hospitality, a group that owns four Richmond restaurants including Tarrant’s and And Dim Sum. Private clubs and casinos in Virginia don’t face the same restrictions, she noted, so “anything that levels the playing field is always a good idea.” 

Tommy Herbert, director of government affairs for the VRLTA, cast the proposal as a way the state can ease some of the burdens on an industry whose costs have risen sharply in the past few years and that is now seeing households tighten their belts in expectation of a worsening economy. 

“We are facing higher fixed costs on the back end and more cautious consumerism,” he said. “But we are also seeing consumer behavior sort of shift. … You see folks who want to dine later, or you see folks who are getting out of work at a late hour and would still like to have a drink affordably.” 

Until December 1985, Virginia restaurants could hold happy hour all the way until closing time at 2 a.m. That year, the state was one of several to usher in a slate of restrictions on the practice as part of a compromise with anti-drunk driving groups seeking to curtail happy hours. 

The idea of letting restaurants once again extend those hours has already raised some worries from Chesterfield nonprofit Substance Abuse Free Environment, which in a comment to ABC said the current 9 p.m. cutoff “provides a reasonable balance between business flexibility and public safety.” 

“Virginia’s success in reducing DUI convictions and alcohol-related fatalities in recent years reflects the effectiveness of existing safeguards,” wrote Executive Director Kathy Reed. “Weakening one of those guardrails could reverse that progress.” 

Research on whether happy hours lead to more drunk driving is mixed. One 2014 study of Georgia students found that happy hour drinking nearly doubled the odds of someone driving drunk. Critics, though, have pointed out some drunk-driving death rates are higher in states that ban happy hour outright than in states that don’t. In 2018, for example, North Carolina’s rate was higher than Virginia’s, despite North Carolina prohibiting happy hour.    

Sarah White, the owner of four Arlington restaurants who first pitched the idea of extending the 9 p.m. deadline, argued ridesharing services that can provide drinkers a safe lift home are now widespread. 

According to her, most restaurants are already careful about serving customers too much, while early happy hours could come with other dangers: “We are serving people cheaper alcohol right now while your children are in crosswalks.” 

McNamara, Kincaid and White all said the current restrictions unnecessarily hamstring restaurant owners, preventing them from running promotions like discounted post-dinner drink and dessert pairings or specials geared toward industry members or health care workers who don’t operate on a typical 9-to-5 schedule.. 

ABC is “saying we’re not going to give you the ability to market and run your business the best way you can between the hours of 9 p.m. and 12,” said McNamara. 

The comment period on the proposal will remain open until Nov. 11, and Virginia’s ABC Board will have the final say. 

McNamara said other safeguards like restricting how much drinks could be discounted during happy hours could help address fears about an expansion’s impacts.

“I think there’s some wiggle room here,” she said. “And giving that wiggle room to restaurants would be better than saying you can’t do it at all.” 

Contact Reporter Sarah Vogelsong at svogelsong@richmonder.org