What is the Food-Beverage Ratio?
VA ABC instituted a Food-to-Liquor Ratio that all mixed beverage restaurants must follow to be in full compliance with the state’s regulations.

“Food” refers to food and nonalcoholic beverages. “Mixed Beverages” means liquor and mixed drinks. Wine and Beer is NOT included in the ratio calculation. The formula is as follows:

Food / (Food + Mixed Beverages) = 45% or more

A minimum of 45 percent of the total gross sales must be from food and nonalcoholic beverages. Conversely, alcohol sales should comprise of no more than 55 percent of these sales. The ratio is calculated over the course of your license year, not monthly. To-Go items may not be included in the food and nonalcoholic beverage sales.

Why is the Food-Beverage Ratio Important?
Each year, VA Mixed Beverage licensees are required to submit a Mixed Beverage Annual Review commonly known as the MBAR.

This annual form is comprised of the following categories:
• Food and Non-alcoholic Beverage Sales and Purchases
• Mixed Beverages Sales and Purchases
• Wine & Beer Sales and Purchases
• Miscellaneous Sales and Purchases (hats, tobacco, candy, apparel, etc.)

In VA, it is a violation and poses civil penalties, license suspension, and/or revocation if you:
• Fail to submit the MBAR
• Fail to timely submit the MBAR
• Report incorrect or false information on the MBAR
• Fail to meet monthly sales requirement
• Fail to meet the ratio requirement

Why is ABC Consulting the best option for your company?
An interesting fact to point out is the MBAR does not calculate the ratio; in fact, at no place on the MBAR will you see information related to determining your ratio. We are the only company in VA offering this tool FREE for you to use to calculate your ratio. We recommend you check your ratio monthly, bookmark this page for future calculations.

Oftentimes licensees do not find out they have a non-compliant ratio until after submitting their MBAR to VA ABC, usually the notification is in the form of a violation report via mail. At ABC Consulting, we prefer to be proactive with our clients so modifications can be made if needed prior to the ending of a license year; however, if ratio compliance cannot be obtained we can assist with penalty reductions in various ways.