2016 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 26 - Liquors-Alcoholic Beverages
RS 26:71.1 - Class A permit; definitions

§71.1. Class A permit; definitions

            The commissioner shall issue the following four types of Class A retail liquor permits:

            (1) Class A-General:

            (a) A Class A-General retail permit shall be issued only to a retail outlet where beverage alcohol is sold on the premises for consumption on the premises by paying customers. Such an establishment must be equipped with a permanent wet bar equipped with a non-movable sink and a backbar or similar equipment for public display and to inform the public of brands and flavors offered for sale.

            (b) A Class A-General retail establishment shall be staffed by a bartender whose primary duty is to open and/or prepare beverage alcohol products for consumption on the premises by paying customers, or prepared with an appropriate lid or cover on the container for take out service. Such an establishment must meet all state and local zoning requirements as set forth by the state and by parishes and municipalities where a Class A-General retail outlet is located.

            (c) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 1016, §2.

            (d) A Class A-General retail permit shall be issued only to an establishment where the state law provides that no person under the age of eighteen years is allowed on the premises except as provided in R.S. 26:90(A)(8)(a).

            (e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraphs (a) through (d) of this Paragraph, the commissioner shall not issue a Class A - General liquor permit to any bona fide commercial film theater unless the bona fide commercial film theater complies with the requirements in R.S. 26:73(C)(1)(a), (b), and (c) and alcoholic beverage sales are physically segregated from all other concession sales and no one under the age of eighteen is allowed to enter the area where such alcoholic beverage sales are conducted.

            (f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraphs (a) through (e) of this Paragraph, the commissioner may issue a Class A-General retail permit to any retail establishment for consumption on or off the premises. Such establishment must meet all state and local zoning requirements as set forth by the state and by parishes and municipalities where the retail outlet is located. A Class A-General retail permit issued pursuant to the authority granted by this Subparagraph shall not be deemed or qualify as a prerequisite for the issuance of any other type license or permit issued by the state or any political subdivisions thereof.

            (g) The licensed premises of a Class A-General retail permit shall be able to accommodate a minimum of twenty-five patrons and contain no less than three hundred seventy-five square feet of public habitable floor area.

            (h) A Class A-General retail establishment shall comply with the Louisiana Department of Health guidelines for the required number of public restrooms and their locations within the retail establishment and shall provide documentation of compliance from the office of public health.

            (i) Any Class A-General retail permit application submitted prior to September 1, 2001, shall not be required to meet the qualifications set forth in Subparagraph (g) of this Paragraph.

            (2) Class A-Restaurant:

            A Class A-Restaurant permit shall be issued only to a "restaurant establishment" as defined by R.S. 26:73(C)(1) or a dinner theater as defined in R.S. 26:2(6) and issued to a facility in conjunction with a Class "R" restaurant permit under the provisions of R.S. 26:73.

            (3) Class A-Special:

            (a) A Class A-Special permit shall be issued to any facility which is situated on state-owned land, and which is being developed or operated by the state for public purposes, without the necessity for a local permit from the parish or municipality, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 26:81(B)(1) and (C), 273(A)(1), 281(B) and (C)(1), 582, and 595, if all other pertinent qualifications and conditions of this Title are satisfied, and such establishment meets all state zoning requirements as set forth by the state.

            (b)(i) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall apply only to the Sabine River Authority Conference and Recreational Facility, located in Ward 3, Sabine Parish, Louisiana and shall be applicable only after the following proposition has been submitted to a local referendum election to the voters of Ward 3, Sabine Parish at the congressional general election to be held in 1994, with a favorable vote of a majority of votes cast, to wit:

"Shall the sale of alcoholic beverage of both high and low alcohol content for consumption on the premises be permitted at the Sabine River Authority Conference and Recreational Facility in Ward 3, Sabine Parish, Louisiana?"

            (ii) This Subparagraph shall be the sole and only enabling act necessary to call this election, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 26:587.

            (c) A Class A-Special permit shall be issued to the convention center facility located in the city of Natchitoches.

            (4) Class A-Restaurant-Conditional:

            (a) Any retail establishment holding a Class A-General permit issued pursuant to this Section may be issued a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional permit, provided it meets the requirements of R.S. 26:73(C)(1)(a), (b), (c), and (d) during the hours from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. each day of operation.

            (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 26:90(A)(3)(a) or any other law to the contrary, any establishment which qualifies and receives a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional permit may permit any person under the age of eighteen on the premises between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.

            (c) No additional fee shall be charged for the application or issuance of a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional permit.

            (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a retail establishment located at a public or private golf course licensed to operate video draw poker devices pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6 of Title 27 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 prior to January 1, 2004, may be issued a Class A-Restaurant-Conditional permit regardless of the amount or the percentage of food or food items sold at that establishment provided that the establishment meets all other criteria required by the provisions of this Chapter.

            Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 63, §1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 130, §1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 1995, No. 1016, §2; Acts 1997, No. 378, §1; Acts 2001, No. 214, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1188, §1, eff. June 29, 2001; Acts 2004, No. 918, §2; Acts 2006, No. 469, §1; Acts 2006, No. 803, §1; Acts 2010, No. 953, §1, eff. July 2, 2010; Acts 2012, No. 287, §1; Acts 2014, No. 777, §1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 382, §1.