With our free press under threat and federal funding for public media gone, your support matters more than ever. Help keep the LAist newsroom strong, become a monthly member or increase your support today during our fall member drive.
LA County Bars Can Reopen — With These Rules

Well, it finally happened. L.A. County said bars, breweries, brewpubs, tasting rooms, craft distilleries and wineries could reopen at 50% capacity starting June 19, but dancing there is prohibited — along with karaoke, trivia, open mics, bowling, billiards, board games, drinking games, contests and other forms of revelry. Yes, we are living in Footloose.
Also, you can't stand and drink. Customers are not allowed to buy or consume beverages while standing.
You can order and drink at the bar if you stay seated and six feet away from other patrons as well as the bartender. You cannot order and pick up drinks at the bar and then walk them to your table. Drinks ordered at your table will be brought to you.
If you're at a winery, brewery or distillery tasting, you should get a new glass for each pour and there won't be any communal dump bucket.
BONUS: If you've got old people ears (it us!) or you simply hate shouting as you're trying to have a casual conversation in a bar, you're in luck. Venues must lower the volume of their music so wait staff can hear customers without leaning toward them. It's all part of the goal of "reducing person-to-person interaction."
As part of that, venues will be operating at reduced capacity to ensure physical distancing. Don't get cranky if you are asked to wait in line before you can enter your favorite watering hole. The venue is probably trying to ensure it doesn't have too many patrons.
You'll also see more mobile ordering, contactless payment and texting on arrival for seating.
Once you do get in, bars will be instituting a variety of protocols to maintain physical distancing -- both between customers and staff and between different groups or tables of customers. Those protocols might include different seating arrangements, physical barriers and hermetically sealed antiseptic pods. Okay, probably not that last one. But everything else. Be patient.
Also, all wait staff and other employees must wear face shields, which companies are required to provide for their workers.
We've heard anecdotal reports of some customers mocking servers for their facemasks. Yes, really. If that is even in the realm of something you might do... STOP IT. Go home, think long and hard about your life, and try to be a better human.
OFFICIAL GUIDANCE:
- State health department guidance: RESTAURANTS, BARS, AND WINERIES
- L.A. County's reopening rules: BARS, WINERIES, BREWERY TASTING ROOMS
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily coronavirus newsletter. To support our nonprofit public service journalism: Donate now.
At LAist, we believe in journalism without censorship and the right of a free press to speak truth to those in power. Our hard-hitting watchdog reporting on local government, climate, and the ongoing housing and homelessness crisis is trustworthy, independent and freely accessible to everyone thanks to the support of readers like you.
But the game has changed: Congress voted to eliminate funding for public media across the country. Here at LAist that means a loss of $1.7 million in our budget every year. We want to assure you that despite growing threats to free press and free speech, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust. Speaking frankly, the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news in our community.
We’re asking you to stand up for independent reporting that will not be silenced. With more individuals like you supporting this public service, we can continue to provide essential coverage for Southern Californians that you can’t find anywhere else. Become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission.
Thank you for your generous support and belief in the value of independent news.

-
If California redistricts, the conservative beach town that banned LGBTQ Pride flags on city property would get a gay, progressive Democrat in Congress.
-
Most survivors of January's fires face a massive gap in the money they need to rebuild, and funding to help is moving too slowly or nonexistent.
-
Kevin Lacy has an obsession with documenting California’s forgotten and decaying places.
-
Restaurants share resources in the food hall in West Adams as Los Angeles reckons with increasing restaurant closures.
-
It will be the second national day of protest against President Donald Trump.
-
The university says the compact, as the Trump administration called it, could undermine free inquiry and academic excellence.