Bismarck cracking down on complimentary booze

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The city of Bismarck is cracking down on spas, salons and other businesses that have been serving alcohol to customers.

The city attorney's office sent letters to 17 businesses recently warning them that it is illegal to serve alcohol without a liquor license.

City Attorney Charlie Whitman tells The Bismarck Tribune that businesses that offer a complimentary drink with such services as a haircut or a manicure have “kind of been creeping in.”

Spa owner Andrea Birst says she's been serving alcohol to customers for years. She says she doesn't charge for the drinks, and she calls the enforcement effort “crazy.”

Whitman says if a drink is given as part of a paid transaction, then it violates the law.

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