Let Anne ArundelTake it To-Go
Restaurants can already send customers home with beer and wine. We're supporting a local option for licensed restaurants to offer sealed cocktails to go under clear rules for responsible service.
Support Cocktails To-Go
Add your name—or your business or organization—to show support for giving local restaurants the option to sell cocktails to go.
Simple Rules. Local Benefits.
To-go cocktails are a straightforward way to give local restaurants more flexibility and customers more choice—with clear rules designed around responsible service.
Restaurants Already Offer Alcohol To-Go
Restaurants can already send customers home with beer and wine. Allowing a cocktail simply adds another option under clear rules.
Our Maryland Neighbors Already Allow It
Other Maryland jurisdictions already allow cocktails to go. Anne Arundel County and Annapolis can build on approaches that are already working close to home.
Part of a Restaurant Order
The proposal can tie cocktails to a food purchase, keeping the focus on restaurants and making the drink an extension of the meal.
Sealed From Restaurant to Home
Cocktails to go would be sold in containers that must remain closed in transit.
A Small Change to Rules We Already Know.
Taking alcohol home from a restaurant isn't new. Customers can already leave with beer and wine. Cocktails to go apply that same idea to a sealed drink prepared by the restaurant you're already ordering from.
Maryland also allowed the practice temporarily during the pandemic, giving restaurants and regulators real-world experience with how it can work responsibly.
Fair Questions, Straight Answers.
A change like this should work for restaurants, retailers, customers, and the broader community. Here are straightforward answers to some of the questions we hear most.
Does this apply to Annapolis too?
Yes. Annapolis and Anne Arundel County have separate liquor boards, but the proposal is intended to cover both. Each board could set its own process and local requirements unless those details are spelled out in state law.
Won't this hurt liquor stores? They're small businesses too!
Liquor stores are important local businesses, and this proposal isn't meant to replace them. The proposal concerns sealed cocktails prepared by restaurants for takeout. It doesn't change where customers can buy bottles of beer, wine, or liquor; it simply lets a restaurant send a customer home with the drink that would otherwise have been served alongside their meal.
Is this just alcohol anywhere, anytime?
No. This would apply only to licensed establishments and would operate under specific rules governing packaging, hours, food requirements, and responsible alcohol service. It's a limited extension of restaurant privileges, not unrestricted alcohol sales.
Can't restaurants already sell beer and wine to go?
Some can. Whether a restaurant can sell beer or wine to go depends on its license and the privileges that come with it. This proposal would add cocktails as another option for eligible establishments.
What about drunk driving and open containers?
Nothing about this proposal changes Maryland's DUI or open-container laws. Cocktails would have to remain sealed in transit, just like other alcohol being taken home. The rules of the road stay exactly the same.
How does this actually become legal, and how can I help?
First, the state has to give Anne Arundel County and Annapolis the green light. Then our local licensing boards can decide the details, like how cocktails are packaged, when they can be sold, and what restaurants have to do to participate. Signing the petition helps show lawmakers that people here want that option.
How This Got Started
My name is Matt Proud. I've lived and worked in Annapolis for more than 15 years, and like everyone else, I have my go-to places - El Toro Bravo, Boatyard, Adam's, and so, so many others.
At some point, I started wondering why I could take home beer or a corked bottle of wine from a restaurant, but not a cocktail from that same restaurant. It worked during COVID, so why not bring it back?
The more I looked into it, the more I realized that it's not complicated. Other Maryland counties are already doing it. Why can't we do it too?
So I started talking to friends about it. What began as a pretty simple question has grown into a coalition of neighbors, restaurants, and local businesses working to bring cocktails to go to Anne Arundel County and Annapolis.
Contact the coalition
Have a question or want to get involved? We'd love to hear from you.
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