Virginia's food-to-beverage ratio is now tiered by license type
HB 975 replaced the flat 45% food requirement for mixed beverage licensees with three tiers keyed to monthly food sales, and added a new seating rule. The change took effect July 1, 2026.
For decades, the single hardest number in a Virginia mixed beverage license was 45. Restaurants holding a mixed beverage license had to show that at least 45% of their combined food-and-mixed-beverage revenue came from food. Missing it was a license problem, not a bookkeeping problem.
As of July 1, 2026, that flat number is gone. HB 975, carried by Del. Bennett-Parker, replaced it with a tiered system keyed to how much food a venue actually sells in a month.
The three tiers
The requirement now depends on monthly food sales:
| Monthly food sales | Food-to-beverage requirement |
|---|---|
| $48,000 and above | No ratio requirement |
| $25,000 – $47,999 | At least 30% food |
| $4,000 – $24,999 | At least 45% food |
There is a carve-out inside the bottom tier. A venue in the $4,000–$24,999 range drops to a 30% requirement if it has fewer than 30 table seats and an occupancy load under 60 people. That is the provision aimed squarely at the small neighborhood bar, the kind of room that has been functionally illegal to operate in Virginia without running a kitchen that loses money.
The seating rule
HB 975 also added a requirement that gets less attention: a mixed beverage licensee must maintain as many seats at tables as it has seats at counters.
A venue with a 24-seat bar rail and 12 seats at tables is out of compliance with that provision regardless of its food numbers.
What still doesn’t count
Beer and wine sales do not count toward these ratios. This continues to trip up operators who assume a strong wine program helps the math. It does not. The ratio is food against mixed beverages, and a venue can be selling a great deal of alcohol overall while still failing the test on spirits alone.
What comes next
Virginia ABC is required to report implementation data back to the General Assembly by November 1, 2027. That report will tell legislators whether the tiers worked, and it will shape whatever comes after them.
For now, the practical upshot is that a Virginia restaurant doing real food volume has stopped worrying about this rule entirely, and a small bar with a modest kitchen has a path that did not exist a year ago.
