While the future of minibottles in Utah is still in question, here's a look back at the history of the popular way to get a (small) drink.
When Emanuel “Manny” Floor was the director of the Utah Travel Council in the late 1960s, business owners constantly complained that liquor laws had a negative effect on tourism and hindered profits at restaurants, bars, hotels and resorts.For drinkers who wanted to imbibe outside their living room, the only option was to “brown-bag” or carry bottles of booze — usually wrapped in the paper bag from the liquor store — into an establishment and then pay for nonalcoholic mixers and glasses of ice.
“Bottom line, we had a vibrant night life and the restaurant visitor could buy liquor where they ordered food.”Utah’s minibottle saga mirrors a similar debate being waged today for removal of enclosures — dubbed “Zion Curtains.” Utah lawmakers mandated in 2009 that all new restaurants build enclosures or barriers to keep patrons from seeing the mixing and pouring of alcoholic drinks, but critics say the law confuses diners and out-of-state visitors and makes Utah look strange.