Bring Home theTo-Go Cocktail
Our restaurants kept us going. Now let's keep them going. Sign the petition to permanently allow sealed to-go cocktails from licensed restaurants across Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
Responsible, local, and overdue
To-go cocktails are not a free-for-all. They are a carefully regulated way to support neighborhood restaurants while giving customers the choice they have asked for.
First a law, then local rules
The General Assembly must pass a bill authorizing to-go cocktails here. That law then lets the Anne Arundel County and Annapolis liquor boards adopt the regulations to allow it.
Maryland neighbors already do it
Howard County and Baltimore County have already made permanent to-go cocktails legal. Anne Arundel County and Annapolis can follow the same proven path our neighbors have paved.
Sold in sealed, tamper-evident containers
To-go cocktails travel in secure, sealed containers that must stay closed in transit — the same responsible standard used successfully in jurisdictions across the country.
Tied to a food order
Proposals pair each cocktail with a food purchase, keeping the focus on full-service restaurants rather than unregulated sales.
Reasonable hours
Sales follow a defined cutoff — commonly 11:00 p.m. — so the program stays predictable and easy for restaurants and inspectors to follow.
A lifeline that became a favorite
Temporary pandemic-era allowances proved popular with customers and gave restaurants a real revenue stream. Making it permanent protects that progress.
New revenue for thin margins
Restaurants keep single-digit profit margins. Cocktails carry some of the highest markups on the menu, so to-go drinks add high-value sales without new overhead or square footage.
More shifts for local workers
Added takeout and delivery volume means more hours for bartenders, servers, and kitchen staff — and more tips — in an industry that is still rebuilding its workforce.
Keeps dollars in the neighborhood
Spending at an independent restaurant recirculates locally far more than a chain purchase. To-go cocktails help family-owned spots compete and stay open on our main streets.
Consumer choice, done responsibly
Marylanders can already carry out beer and wine. Extending the same convenience to a sealed craft cocktail is a common-sense next step.
It got us through COVID. Let's make it permanent.
When dining rooms closed in 2020, Maryland let restaurants sell to-go cocktails to stay afloat. Customers loved the convenience, restaurants added a much-needed revenue stream, and there was no wave of problems. The emergency ended — but the demand, and the benefits, never did.
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- Allowed since
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- States that adopted it
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- Want it made permanent
Specific rules such as container standards, food requirements, and sale hours are set by local regulation and may change. Figures shown are illustrative of national trends; contact the Anne Arundel County Board of License Commissioners or the Annapolis Alcohol Beverage Control Board for current details.
Neighbors, not lobbyists
I've lived in Annapolis for 15 years, and this campaign started with a simple wish: to bring a favorite drink home from the places I already love — a margarita from El Toro Bravo, an Orange Crush from Adam's, a bourbon drink from Dry 85, or a cocktail from the EDC.
We could do exactly that during the pandemic, and it worked — but that temporary allowance expired a few years ago. So I started Anne Arundel To Go to bring it back for good. It's one resident's effort, growing into a coalition of neighbors and local businesses united by one simple belief: adults should be able to order a sealed cocktail with their takeout, just like they already can with beer and wine.
Rooted here
Fifteen years in Annapolis and counting. These are the restaurants I walk to, celebrate at, and bring friends to — our neighborhood spots, not chains.
For our local spots
A sealed cocktail with my takeout is a small thing that puts real dollars back into the family-owned places that make this town what it is.
Nonpartisan & volunteer-led
Anne Arundel To Go is a grassroots effort started by one resident. No corporate backers, no political agenda — just neighbors who want common-sense rules.
Sign the petition for to-go cocktails
Every signature shows our state lawmakers that Anne Arundel County and Annapolis want this bill passed. It takes fifteen seconds and makes a real difference.
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Backed by our neighbors
Local restaurants, business groups, and residents across Anne Arundel County and Annapolis have joined together to make to-go cocktails permanent.
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- Restaurants & bars
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- Businesses & groups
- 0+
- Residents signed on
Restaurants & Bars
- Eastport Kitchen
- Maryland Avenue Tavern
- Severn River Grille
- Dock Street Public House
- Blue Crab Cantina
- West Annapolis Wine Bar
Businesses & Organizations
- Annapolis Restaurant Alliance
- Anne Arundel Hospitality Coalition
- Main Street Merchants Assoc.
- Chesapeake Small Business Network
- Local 21 Service Workers
Community Members
- Residents of Eastport
- Parole & Edgewater neighbors
- Downtown Annapolis locals
- Severna Park families
- Glen Burnie supporters
“To-go cocktails kept my staff employed when nothing else could. Making them permanent isn't a luxury — it's how small restaurants like mine survive.”
Represent a business or group?
Add your organization to the coalition and lend your name to the campaign.
Fair questions, straight answers
To-go cocktails work best when they work for everyone — restaurants, retailers, and residents alike. Here is how we think about the concerns we hear most.
Won't this hurt liquor stores? They're small businesses too!
We hear this a lot, and we take it seriously — liquor stores are valued neighbors and local employers. But a single sealed cocktail served alongside a meal isn't the same product a package store sells. You can't stock a party or your home bar from a restaurant to-go order; it's one drink with your dinner, made by the kitchen you're already ordering from. During the pandemic, restaurants and package stores operated with to-go cocktails side by side, and package stores stayed strong. It is already permanent in Howard County and Baltimore County, where liquor stores continue to thrive. This is about restaurants keeping the food-and-drink experience they already offer, not competing with retail.
Is this just alcohol anywhere, anytime?
No. To-go cocktails are tightly regulated: drinks must be in sealed, tamper-evident containers, are tied to a food order, are limited by the hours in the restaurant’s existing license, and can only be sold by licensed establishments. It is a narrow, common-sense extension of rules that already exist.
What about drunk driving and open containers?
Sealed, tamper-evident packaging is treated like any other closed container — it travels in the trunk or back of the vehicle, not open in the cupholder. Existing open-container and DUI laws stay fully in force. Nothing here changes the rules of the road.
Didn't we already have this during COVID?
Yes — and it worked. Maryland allowed to-go cocktails as a temporary emergency measure during the pandemic. Customers loved it, restaurants gained a real revenue stream, and there was no wave of problems. That authorization expired a few years ago, so today it is no longer allowed. Our goal is simply to bring that proven success back — permanently — for Anne Arundel County and Annapolis.
How does this actually become legal, and how can I help?
It takes two steps. First, the Maryland General Assembly has to pass a bill authorizing to-go cocktails in our area. Once that law is in place, it permits the Anne Arundel County Board of License Commissioners and the Annapolis Alcohol Beverage Control Board to adopt the specific regulations — container standards, hours, food requirements — that make it work. The most powerful thing you can do is sign the petition and share it, so our state lawmakers see how much local demand there is to pass the bill.
Download & display a poster
Print these and post them in your restaurant window, community board, or break room to help more neighbors find and sign the petition.
Share it in one tap
Copy a ready-to-post message or grab a graphic. The more people who see it, the louder our message to local decision-makers.
Ready-to-post messages
To-go cocktails helped our local restaurants survive — now let’s make them permanent in Anne Arundel County & Annapolis. Add your name and support local jobs. #AnneArundelToGo #Annapolis
We can already carry out beer and wine in Maryland. A sealed to-go cocktail from your favorite restaurant should be just as easy. Sign the petition! #AnneArundelToGo #ToGoCocktails
Contact the coalition
Want to volunteer, endorse the campaign as a business, or ask a question? Send us a note and check the box to be added as a supporter.