2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 44 - REVENUE - REGULATION OF ACTIVITIES (§§ 44-1-101 — 44-50-1001) › ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO REGULATION (§§ 44-3-101 — 44-7-107) › Article 3 - ALCOHOL BEVERAGES (§§ 44-3-101 — 44-3-1002) › Part 4 - CLASSES OF LICENSES AND PERMITS (§§ 44-3-401 — 44-3-432) › Section 44-3-424 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Retail establishment permit - definitions

(1)
(a)
Except as provided in subsection (1)(c) of this section, a person operating a retail establishment may offer and serve complimentary alcohol beverages for consumption only on the premises if the retail establishment has been issued a retail establishment permit, which must be renewed annually.
(b)
A retail establishment permit holder shall not:
(I)
Directly or indirectly, sell alcohol beverages;
(II)
Serve alcohol beverages for more than four hours in a twenty-four-hour period;
(III)
Serve alcohol beverages more than twenty-four days per year;
(IV)
Serve malt liquor with a serving size of more than twelve ounces;
(V)
Serve vinous liquor with a serving size of more than five ounces, but the five ounces of vinous liquor may be mixed with nonalcoholic beverages to make a larger serving size;
(VI)
Serve spirituous liquor with a serving size of more than one and one-half ounces, but the one and one-half ounces of malt liquor may be mixed with nonalcoholic beverages to make a larger serving size;
(VII)
Serve a pre-mixed alcohol beverage drink of a serving size of more than twelve ounces;
(VIII)
Hold any other license issued under this article 3 or article
4
of this title 44;
(IX)
Serve or distribute alcohol beverages between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.;
(X)
Permit a person under eighteen years of age to sell, dispense, or participate in the sale or dispensing of an alcohol beverage; or
(XI)
Permit a person eighteen years of age or older and under twenty-one years of age to sell, dispense, or participate in the sale or dispensing of an alcohol beverage, unless the person is supervised by another person who is on the permitted premises and is at least twenty-one years of age.
(c)
(I)
This section applies to a retail establishment that is:
(A)
An art gallery; or
(B)
Any other retail establishment, except retail establishments described in subsection (1)(c)(II) of this section, that has no more than twenty-five employees and has retail sales of no more than five million dollars per year.
(II)
This section does not apply to a retail establishment that:
(A)
Sells firearms, motor vehicles, marijuana, gasoline, or diesel fuel;
(B)
Educates students from kindergarten to twelfth grade or provides child care; or
(C)
Is a convenience store.
(2)
(a)
The state or local licensing authority may reject the application for a retail establishment permit if the applicant fails to establish that the applicant is able to offer complimentary alcohol beverages without violating this section or creating a public safety risk to the neighborhood.
(b)
Upon initial application, and for each renewal, an applicant must list each day that alcohol beverages will be served, which days must not be changed without a minimum of thirty days' written notice to the state and local licensing authorities.
(3)
Neither the state nor a local licensing authority shall deny a retail establishment permit based solely on the retail establishment's proximity to any public or private school or the principal campus of a college, university, or seminary.
(4)
A retail establishment shall not charge an entrance fee or a cover charge in exchange for offering complimentary alcohol beverages for consumption only on the premises.
(5)
A retail establishment permit may be suspended or revoked in accordance with section
44-3-601
if the permit holder violates this article 3 or any rule adopted pursuant to this article 3 or fails to truthfully furnish any required information in connection with a permit application.
(6)
(a)
Except as provided in subsection (6)(b) of this section, it is unlawful for any owner, part owner, shareholder, or person interested directly or indirectly in a retail establishment that holds a permit issued pursuant to this section to conduct, own either in whole or in part, or be directly or indirectly interested in any other business licensed pursuant to this article 3 or article
4
of this title 44.
(b)
A retail establishment that holds a permit issued pursuant to this section may have an interest in:
(I)
Other retail establishments that hold a permit issued pursuant to this section;
(II)
A license described in section
44-3-401 (1)(j) to (1)(t), (1)(v), or (1)(w)
;
44-3-412 (1)
; or
44-4-104 (1)(c)
; or
(III)
A financial institution referred to in section
44-3-308 (4)
.
(7)
As used in this section, unless the context otherwise requires:
(a)
"Art gallery" means a retail establishment that has the primary purpose of exhibiting and offering for sale works of fine art as defined in section
6-15-101
or precious or semiprecious metals or stones as defined in section
18-16-102
.
(b)
"Retail establishment" means an establishment that has the primary purpose of selling goods or services to the public and that:
(I)
Conducts the business described in subsection (7)(a) of this section at a physical building in Colorado; and
(II)
Derives less than fifty percent of the establishment's gross sales of goods and services from the sale of food.
(8)
A retail establishment issued a permit shall not intentionally allow more than two hundred fifty people to be on the premises at one time when alcohol beverages are being served.
(9)
This section does not:
(a)
Abrogate any insurance coverage required by law; or
(b)
Authorize a retail establishment permit holder to violate:
(I)
Section
44-3-901
, including serving a visibly intoxicated person and taking an alcohol beverage off the licensed premises; or
(II)
Any zoning or occupancy ordinances or laws.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 205,§ 25, eff. 8/7/2024.
Amended by 2023 Ch. 340,§ 1, eff. 8/7/2023.
Renumbered from C.R.S. § 12-47-422 and amended by 2018 Ch. 152, § 2, eff. 10/1/2018.
Amended by 2016 Ch. 312, § 16, eff. 8/10/2016.
Amended by 2015 Ch. 121, § 19, eff. 4/24/2015.
L. 2018: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 18-1025), ch. 152, p. 1027, § 2, effective October 1.
This section is similar to former § 12-47-422 as it existed prior to 2018.
2024 Ch. 205, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
2023 Ch. 340, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.