Food Service Permit for Bar and Alcohol

[jkisha]

OK, I know this question has been asked and answered here, but I have searched "Permit Alcohol" "Food Service Permit Alcohol" "Health Department" "Health Department Bar" "Health Department Alcohol" and a host of others and couldn't find the answer. So maybe this post will be easier for someone to find in the future that has the same question.

Is a Food Service Permit required to server alcohol?

It turns out a group in our camp wants to have a public bar and I want to be sure on the requirement. I "thought" that I read somewhere that it was not required; but since I can't find the source, I'm asking again.

Thanks

[ConnieH]

Found this on the Burning Man website:

"Gifting food or fresh juices to the public, requires a permit from the Nevada State Health Division. Any kitchen serving 125 or more persons at a time, whether public OR private, requires a health permit. Go to http://health.nv.gov/BFHS_EHS.htm, and scroll down to the flame icon for specific "Temporary Food Information for Burning Man". You don't need a permit for bar ice, but your ice must come from a commercial source approved by the Health Division, like local stores or our own ice sales."

Doesn't exactly answer the question if a permit is required for a bar, but if you aren't serving fresh juice I don't think you need one. We never get one.

[ConnieH]

Here's the full scoop:

• NSHD does NOT require permits of, or regulate vendors who wish to share, prepare, or serve the following items only:
• o Alcoholic beverages
• o Foods that are commercially pre-packaged, individually packaged/packaged by serving and non-temperature sensitive, each of these criteria must be met. These foods include candy, bags of chips or pretzels, cans of soda, bottled water, whole and unbreached apples & oranges, etc.

Needs a Permit:
• Ice cream bars and milk boxes because the food is temperature sensitive
• Jerky meat and cookies that are not individually wrapped because you will be handling the food
• Cut melon, slices of apple, grapes because there is food handling involved and once cut these foods must be kept cold
• Juice, if big gallons are bought and poured because there is food handling and once opened the juice is temperature sensitive and must be kept cold
• Tea and coffee if you are including dairy milk as a part of the service.

[Packoderm]

Would a permit be required to open a salvia den?

[lucky420]

ok so I will bring whole key limes for people who want to bite a lime wedge after a shot. They can have the whole damn thing, of course I will have a bucket for the waste.

[jkisha]

Thanks! So to clarify, alcoholic beverages do not require a permit. What about if you are serving drinks like a bloody Mary or screw drivers? Would that count as juice?

[Savannah]

I think based on Connie's descriptors above, if the juice used for these beverages were sealed single servings, like a can of V-8 or a boxed juice, a permit would not be required. But if it's a 64 oz Ocean Spray being used for 8 servings or a bottle of Bloody Mary mix that says "Refrigerate after opening" I think the Health Dept might be interested (if serving to the public as opposed to small, personal groups) because the juice might be open for a few hours, and so would need to be kept at a specific temperature.