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Before COVID-19, the only way Coloradans could take home open alcohol from a restaurant was by ordering a bottle of wine and recorking it.

Mixed drinks like a Bloody Mary, margarita or martini? Forget about it.

But as restaurants closed for the pandemic and struggled to meet sales numbers that would keep them afloat, the state created a law that allows restaurants to sell alcohol with to-go and delivery food orders.

Now, the Colorado Legislature is considering extending that allowance to July 1, 2021, to help restaurants get back on their feet financially. The Colorado Senate passed the bill in a 34-1 vote this week, and the House Committee of Public Services unanimously passed the bill Thursday.

“We need all the help we can get,” said Kris Oyler, co-founder and owner of Peak Food & Beverage, which includes Steamworks Brewing Co., El Moro Spirits and Tavern and Bird’s.

He estimated that alcoholic beverages make up 40% of his sales.

“We’ve shown it can be done responsibly and done well,” Oyler said.

Since the shutdown, most restaurants have been operating at a deficit. In normal times, the profit margin is 4%, Oyler said.

“It just shows how hard we have to work to get back to pre-COVID revenue levels,” Oyler said.

Peak Food & Beverage isn’t the only restaurant company that has benefited from alcohol delivery and take-out sales.

Sean Claussen, an employee of Zia Taqueria, said the restaurant has ordered more tequila and mix in the past month than it normally does in a whole quarter.

“We are selling exponentially more margaritas than we have in the past,” Claussen said. “It’s been amazing for us, and something we hope they keep doing.”

Alcohol sales helped cover overhead costs for Ernie’s Bar and The Box at 11th Street Station, constituting 20% of take-out sales.

“When the restaurant was closed, alcohol sales made a significant difference,” said owner Jaime Wisner.

For Nayarit Restaurant, the availability of to-go and delivery alcohol beverages increased sales by about 50% when in-person dining was closed, said employee Diego Arias. Now that they are open again, to-go and delivery alcohol orders are dropping.

“We still get drink orders here and there,” Arias said.

But Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango, and Sen. Don Coram, R-Montrose, doubt that the law will be extended beyond the currently proposed end point in 2021.

“This passed as a stopgap,” Coram said. “If restaurants come back, I think it may not continue.”

Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, voted against the measure because she was concerned about people drinking and driving, Coram said.

“Colorado has always said no open containers,” Coram said.

McLachlan agreed that the bill had strong support in the Senate because it will help one of the industries hit hardest by COVID-19.

Currently, restaurants can open to only partial capacity to ensure social distancing, which creates more financial issues, even for restaurants with loans from the Paycheck Protection Program. To avoid paying the loan back, restaurants have to maintain all of their current staff. Even without a global pandemic, this is a difficult standard to meet when restaurants can’t operate the way they were before the shutdown order.

“It’s only for a limited period of time,” McLachlan said in a phone interview. “They’re being smart about it.”

ehayes@durangoherald.com