2016-08-22

Part 93 of 93 in the series Nanny State of the Week

In the name of safety and public protection, Washington, D.C. is clamping down on that ever-present urban menace that corrupts the youth and endangers lives.

Yes. The District of Columbia is going after pub crawls.

In the wake of a string of some particularly large and lively pub crawls in 2015, the city decided it had had enough. Celebrations are one thing, but organizing large groups of people — many of them from out of town — to patronize local restaurants and businesses? That would not possibly stand.



CHEERS? D.C. is putting the clamp on pub crawls.

So D.C.’s Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration established rules for official pub crawls and what may and may not be tolerated. Pub crawls that draw over 200 people must register with the city, detail a trash and litter removal plan, have a security plan set up and pay a $500 fee. Previously, organizers merely had to submit registration.

A “pub crawl” also now has an official definition: “an organized group of establishments within walking distance which participate in the promotion of the event featuring the sale or service of alcoholic beverages during a specified time period.”

The new rules also created a new class of crime: “participating in an unlawful pub crawl.”

Jon Gabel, an executive with event organizing company Joonbug Productions, told the Washington City Paper the rules will have a massive effect on business. “I have had owners tell me ‘you saved my month.'” A restaurant manager told the City Paper “it’s definitely going to impact a lot of businesses.”

Large, organized pub crawls have been a feature of D.C.’s nightlife scene for years. It was 2015’s “Nightmare on M Street” — a yearly Halloween pub crawl — that prompted complaints from both residential activists and police. Injuries or arrests that may have resulted were either too few to merit mention or not particularly important to those making the complaints.

At least four events had been canceled under the new rules.

According to Reason, the punishment for an establishment or organization found to be “participating in an unlawful pub crawl” can be harsh: fines, permanent prohibition from pub crawls, or even having a liquor license revoked.

Show more