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 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.”
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…