It may not be long before the people serving you alcohol at your favorite restaurant get a little younger. A pre-filed bill making its way to the Kentucky senate floor would lower the age for servers from 20-and-a-day to 18-years-old.It comes as restaurants all over the state are working to get back to their pre-pandemic staff numbers. Drake's in St. Matthew's is no exception.Managing partner Bob Cameron said he’s been busy putting up hiring signs inside and outside of the restaurant. As of late, he's been successful at getting applicants, averaging 20-30 a week, but there's just one problem."It’s all coming down to the age of the applicant," Cameron said.Being a venue that serves alcohol, he said they get a lot of people asking for beer and mixed drinks. However, there are limited people who can serve them due to age."If you're not 20-and-a-day, I've got still positions available, but it gets to a point where we are starting to fill those positions," Cameron said. "We still have huge vacancies in certain departments that we really need to fill."He's not alone. Venues all over the state are trying to combat the current age requirement, so much so that state lawmakers are deciding to step in.On Thursday, Republican State Rep. Richard White addressed the state's Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations with a solution."I think we should lower the age to serve alcohol to 18-years-old," White said.A solution that would help out people like Cameron, but also one that the district manager for Agave & Rye in Louisville, Jason Fryman said, would help out those who get hired."I started serving when I was 16, but it was in a place that didn't serve alcohol," Fryman said. "It made a huge difference when I was able to serve alcohol, the amount of money I was making."Fryman said he's in favor of the move. In his opinion, there's not much of a difference between someone who is 18 or 19-years-old, and someone who is 20-and-a-day-years-old."I think as long as you're 18 you're an adult," Fryman said. "As long as proper training is put into a place, you can do it."A statement some state lawmakers agreed with during the Thursday meeting."We're talking about someone who is 18, who is eligible for the draft, can go into service, and is legally an adult," Republican Sen. John Schickel said. "It's not like they would be behind the bar alone at 1:30 a.m. They would be under the supervision of someone who is 21-years-old serving tables."The bill if passed would also allow cashiers at stores who serve boxed alcohol to be as young as 18-years-old.
It may not be long before the people serving you alcohol at your favorite restaurant get a little younger.
A pre-filed bill making its way to the Kentucky senate floor would lower the age for servers from 20-and-a-day to 18-years-old.
It comes as restaurants all over the state are working to get back to their pre-pandemic staff numbers. Drake's in St. Matthew's is no exception.
Managing partner Bob Cameron said he’s been busy putting up hiring signs inside and outside of the restaurant. As of late, he's been successful at getting applicants, averaging 20-30 a week, but there's just one problem.
"It’s all coming down to the age of the applicant," Cameron said.
Being a venue that serves alcohol, he said they get a lot of people asking for beer and mixed drinks. However, there are limited people who can serve them due to age.
"If you're not 20-and-a-day, I've got still positions available, but it gets to a point where we are starting to fill those positions," Cameron said. "We still have huge vacancies in certain departments that we really need to fill."
He's not alone. Venues all over the state are trying to combat the current age requirement, so much so that state lawmakers are deciding to step in.
On Thursday, Republican State Rep. Richard White addressed the state's Interim Joint Committee on Licensing, Occupations, and Administrative Regulations with a solution.
"I think we should lower the age to serve alcohol to 18-years-old," White said.
A solution that would help out people like Cameron, but also one that the district manager for Agave & Rye in Louisville, Jason Fryman said, would help out those who get hired.
"I started serving when I was 16, but it was in a place that didn't serve alcohol," Fryman said. "It made a huge difference when I was able to serve alcohol, the amount of money I was making."
Fryman said he's in favor of the move. In his opinion, there's not much of a difference between someone who is 18 or 19-years-old, and someone who is 20-and-a-day-years-old.
"I think as long as you're 18 you're an adult," Fryman said. "As long as proper training is put into a place, you can do it."
A statement some state lawmakers agreed with during the Thursday meeting.
"We're talking about someone who is 18, who is eligible for the draft, can go into service, and is legally an adult," Republican Sen. John Schickel said. "It's not like they would be behind the bar alone at 1:30 a.m. They would be under the supervision of someone who is 21-years-old serving tables."
The bill if passed would also allow cashiers at stores who serve boxed alcohol to be as young as 18-years-old.
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