Mitch PerryIt’s not likely that anyone would actually know this, but Florida state law requires that any restaurant that serves alcohol must be at least 2,500 square feet in size.
In Hillsborough County, however, state law says that restaurants that sell booze must be at least 4,000 square feet.
Attempting to rectify that anomaly, Tampa Republican Dana Young is pushing a local bill (HB 1417) that would give Hillsborough a break. It would change state law to allow restaurants there to use the same criteria as every one of the state’s other 66 counties.
Young’s bill passed unanimously in the House Local Government Affairs Subcommittee on Monday. So far there’s no Senate sponsor, though.
