§71.1. Class A permit; definitions
The commissioner shall issue the following four types of Class A retail liquor
permits:
(1) Class A-General:
(a) A Class A-General retail permit shall be issued only to a retail outlet where
beverage alcohol is sold on the premises for consumption on the premises by paying
customers. Such an establishment must be equipped with a permanent wet bar equipped with
a non-movable sink and a backbar or similar equipment for public display and to inform the
public of brands and flavors offered for sale.
(b) A Class A-General retail establishment shall be staffed by a bartender whose
primary duty is to open and/or prepare beverage alcohol products for consumption on the
premises by paying customers, or prepared with an appropriate lid or cover on the container
for take out service. Such an establishment must meet all state and local zoning requirements
as set forth by the state and by parishes and municipalities where a Class A-General retail
outlet is located.
(c) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 1016, §2.
(d) A Class A-General retail permit shall be issued only to an establishment where
the state law provides that no person under the age of eighteen years is allowed on the
premises except as provided in R.S. 26:90(A)(8)(a).
(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraphs (a) through (d) of this
Paragraph, the commissioner shall not issue a Class A - General liquor permit to any bona
fide commercial film theater unless the bona fide commercial film theater complies with the
requirements in R.S. 26:73(C)(1)(a), (b), and (c) and alcoholic beverage sales are physically
segregated from all other concession sales and no one under the age of eighteen is allowed
to enter the area where such alcoholic beverage sales are conducted.
(f) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraphs (a) through (e) of this
Paragraph, the commissioner may issue a Class A-General retail permit to any retail
establishment for consumption on or off the premises. Such establishment must meet all
state and local zoning requirements as set forth by the state and by parishes and
municipalities where the retail outlet is located. A Class A-General retail permit issued
pursuant to the authority granted by this Subparagraph shall not be deemed or qualify as a
prerequisite for the issuance of any other type license or permit issued by the state or any
political subdivisions thereof.
(g) The licensed premises of a Class A-General retail permit shall be able to
accommodate a minimum of twenty-five patrons and contain no less than three hundred
seventy-five square feet of public habitable floor area.
(h) A Class A-General retail establishment shall comply with the Louisiana
Department of Health guidelines for the required number of public restrooms and their
locations within the retail establishment and shall provide documentation of compliance from
the office of public health.
(i) Any Class A-General retail permit application submitted prior to September 1,
2001, shall not be required to meet the qualifications set forth in Subparagraph (g) of this
Paragraph.
(2) Class A-Restaurant:
A Class A-Restaurant permit shall be issued only to a "restaurant establishment" as
defined by R.S. 26:73(C)(1) or a dinner theater as defined in R.S. 26:2(6) and issued to a
facility in conjunction with a Class "R" restaurant permit under the provisions of R.S. 26:73.
(3) Class A-Special:
(a) A Class A-Special permit shall be issued to any facility which is situated on
state-owned land, and which is being developed or operated by the state for public purposes,
without the necessity for a local permit from the parish or municipality, notwithstanding the
provisions of R.S. 26:81(B)(1) and (C), 273(A)(1), 281(B) and (C)(1), 582, and 595, if all
other pertinent qualifications and conditions of this Title are satisfied, and such establishment
meets all state zoning requirements as set forth by the state.
(b)(i) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall apply only to the
Sabine River Authority Conference and Recreational Facility, located in Ward 3, Sabine
Parish, Louisiana and shall be applicable only after the following proposition has been
submitted to a local referendum election to the voters of Ward 3, Sabine Parish at the
congressional general election to be held in 1994, with a favorable vote of a majority of votes
cast, to wit:
"Shall the sale of alcoholic beverage of both high and low alcohol content for
consumption on the premises be permitted at the Sabine River Authority
Conference and Recreational Facility in Ward 3, Sabine Parish, Louisiana?"
(ii) This Subparagraph shall be the sole and only enabling act necessary to call this
election, notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 26:587.
(c) A Class A-Special permit shall be issued to the convention center facility located
in the city of Natchitoches.
(4) Class A-Restaurant-Conditional:
(a) Any retail establishment holding a Class A-General permit issued pursuant to this
Section may be issued a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional permit, provided it meets the
requirements of R.S. 26:73(C)(1)(a), (b), (c), and (d) during the hours from 7:00 a.m. until
11:00 p.m. each day of operation.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 26:90(A)(3)(a) or any other law to the
contrary, any establishment which qualifies and receives a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional
permit may permit any person under the age of eighteen on the premises between the hours
of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.
(c) No additional fee shall be charged for the application or issuance of a Class-A-Restaurant-Conditional permit.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a retail establishment
located at a public or private golf course licensed to operate video draw poker devices
pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 6 of Title 27 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950
prior to January 1, 2004, may be issued a Class A-Restaurant-Conditional permit regardless
of the amount or the percentage of food or food items sold at that establishment provided that
the establishment meets all other criteria required by the provisions of this Chapter.
Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 63, §1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No.
130, §1, eff. July 7, 1994; Acts 1995, No. 1016, §2; Acts 1997, No. 378, §1; Acts 2001, No.
214, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1188, §1, eff. June 29, 2001; Acts 2004, No. 918, §2; Acts 2006,
No. 469, §1; Acts 2006, No. 803, §1; Acts 2010, No. 953, §1, eff. July 2, 2010; Acts 2012,
No. 287, §1; Acts 2014, No. 777, §1, eff. July 1, 2014; Acts 2015, No. 382, §1.