The allowance of cocktails-to-go that was made to help bars and restaurants during the pandemic is one step closer to being permanent.

House Bill 1154 was passed by a vote of 187-14 on Tuesday, which would make the rule that allowed a temporary exception for the sale of drinks to go permanent after the pandemic is over.

Grants worth more than $50 million have been distributed by the Pennsylvania COVID-19 Hospitality Industry Recovery Program (CHIRP,) and millions have gone to hotels, restaurants and bars in the Greater Lehigh Valley.

New guidance through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) allows anyone fully vaccinated to forgo face coverings in public settings, which could prove difficult for small businesses currently enforcing mask mandates.

“There’s definitely been a lot of people asking when we’re bringing breakfast back,” said Cindy Ebert, manager of the Brass Rail restaurant in Allentown. “The answer is we can’t even staff lunch and dinner.”

The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed by President Biden includes a number of federal programs that will funnel millions into Pennsylvania businesses but despite its expensive price, it doesn’t allot enough money to keep the state’s businesses impacted by COVID-19 open.

Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 756 liquor license holders and issued 20 notice violations to businesses who failed to follow COVID-19 requirements during the week of Feb. 1.

Since Dec. 21, 33 restaurants across the state have been closed by inspector order after refusing to comply with Gov. Wolf’s temporary order prohibiting dine-in services.

The restaurants’ current revenue won’t cover the cost of keeping all the employees working during that time on takeout and delivery orders alone, but the company will dip into its savings to make it happen.

Less than a week after Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a bill that would have eased COVID-19 mitigation restrictions at the state’s restaurants, he is offering a financial olive branch to the hard-hit industry.