A meeting of the working group of the Legislative Assembly on the so-called “nalivaikas” unexpectedly turned into a discussion about the fact that one should come to St. Petersburg exclusively for spiritual values, and not to consume alcohol in public catering. The townspeople also suffered because they were suspected of mass alcoholism and domestic drinking, “when dad beats mom.”
Activists insisted: the sale of intoxicating drinks should not only be limited by time in HoReCa, but generally expelled from grocery stores, relocating them in a mild form to specialized points located at least 500 meters from housing, and even better, 5 kilometers.
In response to this, there were still calls not to demonize white businesses that honestly pay taxes and create jobs. The participants in the discussion also recalled territories with a predominantly Muslim population, where, due to religious beliefs, you cannot drink, but whoever needs it, as you know, will find it. Scandinavian countries with their peculiarities of alcohol trade were also mentioned.
Tellingly, representatives of those very “nalivaki” were not present at the meeting of the working group.
A “Pandora’s box” of “liquors” for St. Petersburg deputies, who have been waging a long-term struggle with such establishments, was once again opened by a federal law, which the State Duma approved in the third reading on February 1, 2024.
— The law was passed today. Regions will be able to establish requirements for the sale of beer, cider and other alcoholic beverages in restaurants, bars, cafes, buffets, and also limit the time for the sale of alcoholic beverages at public catering outlets (except for restaurants) located in apartment buildings and in adjacent areas, — the words of its chairman Vyacheslav Volodin were quoted on the State Duma website.
Let’s remember this important point.
In turn, at the first meeting of the working group of the Legislative Assembly, the discussion was precisely about delineating and clarifying the concept of catering categories. Then ideas appeared to ban the sale of alcohol in them at certain times of the day, for example, from 3.00 to 7.00.
The other day, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Leningrad Region approved a bill prohibiting the operation of “nalivok” in residential buildings from 23.00 to 9.00. In region 47, “know-how” should come into force on September 1, 2024. But this document, again, says nothing specifically about restaurants.
In St. Petersburg, activists decided to go much further. Thus, they proposed, in principle, to prohibit the presence of public catering in residential buildings and its outlets in adjacent territories, and not just the sale of alcohol there at certain times.
Some of the authors of radical approaches also stated that alcohol, in principle, should be sold exclusively in specialized stores located at a distance of 500 meters from housing. Another option was to locate such objects within a 5-kilometer zone from residential buildings.
The next “know-how” was to drive the green snake out of residential areas and leave it only in leading tourist locations and large points of population attraction, such as Apraksin and Gostiny Dvors, Nikolsky Ryads, New Holland, etc.
Activists also argued that from 1 ruble of income from the alcohol business, the state then has to spend 6-7 rubles on restoring the health of the population. But no one has clarified where these numbers came from.
The most original was the chairman of the public organization “Sober Petersburg” Nikita Rubtsov. He stated that alcohol is a poison and a preservative and this should be prescribed at the legislative level, and restaurants should be required to sell only and exclusively food.
At the same time, as activists said, the same alcohol brings in only 3% of catering revenues.
As restaurateur Maxim Zhukov, a member of the board of the Rubinstein Street Union, noted in response to such radical ideas, to define the concept of a restaurant, the same GOSTs use the phrase complex cooking, but what exactly is meant by this is not disclosed.
– What then is a coffee shop, a canteen, where there can be a large assortment. It may not be? How to differentiate all this? What is a coffee shop? he asked.
The RosAl representative pointed out that the most radical approach to catering and specialty stores will lead to the closure of many outlets, but demand will not go away. As a result, we predict the flourishing of the illegal trade in alcohol and illegal sales, which will be supervised by criminal structures.
However, the company representative agreed with another, perhaps the mildest proposed ban: not selling alcoholic drinks from 3.00 to 7.00. This will also apply to bars.
The head of the working group, deputy Denis Chetyrbok, also expressed complaints about the existing terminology in public catering, and at the same time asked the question “what is the adjacent territory.”
The speech of the head of the LDPR faction in the Legislative Assembly, Pavel Itkin, was also quite striking, recalling the founder of their party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, who on the day of the discussion would have had his 78th birthday anniversary with his attempts to create a state monopoly on the production of alcohol.
He honestly admitted that potential restrictions are being prepared specifically for white businesses, those who work honestly and are present at the meeting. The parliamentarian also recalled that at one time smoking was banned in restaurants, the restrictions had their positive aspects, but as a result, the vaping business flourished.
“It’s not restaurants, but alcohol chains that are to blame for the alcoholization of the population,” concluded Pavel Itkin.
Here we need to clarify the following point. The vast majority of outlets of such liquor retailers as Krasnoe&Beloe, Norman, and Vinlab are located in residential buildings.
Following Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the discussion participants also remembered Mikhail Gorbachev with his cutting down of vineyards and the subsequent flourishing of moonshine.
We also noticed that in areas where the population professes Islam, you cannot drink there due to your beliefs, but whoever wants it will find it.
Restaurateurs and market participants interviewed by 78.ru called the activists’ ideas not just radical, but even orthodox.
As Leonid Garbar, president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of the North-West, said, about 70% of catering facilities are located in residential buildings, another 10% in business centers, and about 20% in separate buildings or shopping centers.
As he emphasized, “know-how” will, in principle, lead to the fact that 10–20% of points will remain “alive”.
The founder of the management company Evdokimov group (the Parusa restaurant group), Vladislav Evdokimov, noted that the chain has a bar located in the apartment building.
According to him, alcohol brings in approximately 40% of the income from establishments with good cuisine, where people come to eat, not drink. In the second option it is 70%.
As Vladislav Evdokimov added, the problem is that the bans will hit not only catering, but also the wine business, as well as the employees of these industries, which generate a huge number of jobs.
Director of the Club of Alcohol Market Professionals Maxim Chernigovsky is ready to reassure: the activists’ orthodox and radical proposals are isolated in nature and are unlikely to ultimately be approved at the legislative level.
It is planned to formalize and collect the “know-how” in this form by May 24.
