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In an email blast, yesterday April 14,
to Rhode Island liquor license holders, the Rhode Island Hospitality
and Tourism Association passed on a stern warning from the Board
of Licenses to “cease and desist” the practice of “whole
bottle service." The growing and very profitable idea of
selling customers a VIP package that includes self-served alcohol is
especially prevalent in RI night clubs.
Whole bottle service, works like this;
you and your party pre-order a VIP package from an establishment, it
gets you a private table and the liquor of your choice delivered by
the bottle. The night clubs love it – prices range from $200-$500
per bottle. Patrons have a sense of buying something special, as they
serve themselves and of course any of their friends from their
private, if obscenely expensive, stash.
 “We just want people to follow the
law,” said Dale J. Venturini, president and CEO of the Rhode Island
Hospitality and Tourism Association. “A number of establishments
seem to be doing it and it encourages others to try this profitable, but
illegal practice. It's my duty to inform members what the law is.”
To quote the RIHTA email, “It
has come to the attention of the Board of Licenses that
establishments have been offering for sale bottles of distilled
liquors. This is a violation of the alcoholic beverage statutes and
regulations promulgated by the Department of Business Regulation.”
The email goes on to indicate that any violation will result in a
hearing for cause, with the obvious specter of a suspended or even
revoked liquor license.
Caitlin
Thomas-Henkel, Director of the Mayor's substance abuse program,
confirmed that there had been an increase in the number of cases
where the officers policing liquor licenses were aware of whole
bottle service. “The whole idea violates the 'responsible beverage
service' statutes in Rhode Island,” she said. “There was no one
incident that caused the cease and desist order, just significant
anecdotal evidence that the issue was becoming more prevalent in the
area.”
She went on to
agree that one of the obvious problems, beyond this practice being
prohibited, was that the establishments had no idea who was being
given the alcohol by the “VIP” that was occupying the table. The
risk of someone underage being served was obvious.
This money
spinning idea apparently started in Florida and the South and has now
washed up on our shores. I wonder if the stricter implementation of
the law will drive the practice underground or even result in the VIP
packages being modified to include a personal bartender. Apparently the failure of the
night clubs to specifically serve and control the alcohol is the main
problem here. Somehow this all feels a bit like the days of
Speakeasies, where you paid a fortune for the mixers and the illegal
hooch was free. Anyway, if you can get past the licensing issues,
shouldn't selling a $20 bottle of Grey Goose for $500 be against the
law as well?
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General Business 
