SALT LAKE CITY, April 1 (UPI) -- Gov. Jon Huntsman has signed a bill ending Utah laws that limited the sale of mixed drinks to private clubs and banned bartenders from working in plain sight.
Huntsman went to the New Yorker, a club in Salt Lake City, to sign the legislation Monday, the Deseret Morning News reported.
Starting July 1, the private clubs can turn into ordinary bars, allowing anyone who wishes to order a drink without going through the rigmarole of a membership application and fee. Restaurants that serve food can take down what became known as Zion curtains that shielded bartenders mixing drinks from the public gaze, a measure supposedly protecting children.
Critics, including the Salt Lake Tribune's editorial writers, say the new law is not perfect. It requires restaurants to provide electronic scanners to check ID for anyone who appears to be under the age of 35 -- and requires them to keep the information for at least seven days.
While the days of the Zion curtains are over, the law also requires all new restaurants to have a separate room for mixing drinks.
