Slater's 50/50 Is the First Las Vegas Restaurant Licensed for To-Go Cocktails

by Ryan Rose

What Happened

Slater's 50/50 is a burger restaurant known for its big menu and its bar. Its Lake Mead Boulevard location is the first restaurant inside City of Las Vegas limits to get approval to sell alcohol to go. According to the city, two restaurants have applied so far. Slater's was the first to be approved. Eureka! Downtown is working on its approval now.

The approval follows a vote by the Las Vegas City Council in early September. The council voted unanimously to allow restaurants to sell mixed drinks to go. Restaurants that already hold an alcohol license can apply to the city for a special endorsement. That endorsement lets them package drinks for customers to take off the property.

The city's rules are specific. Every to-go drink has to be sold with a meal. The drink has to be in a sealed, tamper-evident container. FOX5 also reported that anyone delivering the drinks must be at least 21 and must hold an alcohol education card, known as a TAM card. And for now, city rules do not allow deliveries outside Las Vegas city limits.

The seal is the part people will see first. Someone at the restaurant explained to FOX5 that the seal has to be ripped to open the container. Once it is ripped, it cannot be put back on. That is what makes it tamper-proof. If the seal is broken, you can tell right away that someone opened it.

The owner of Slater's 50/50 told FOX5 that to-go cocktails are not new for the business. Restaurants sold them during the pandemic, and the owner said the practice helped the restaurant survive that stretch. Now the option is back, this time under permanent rules instead of emergency ones.

A burger with a side of fries, the kind of meal Las Vegas restaurants must sell alongside any to-go cocktail under city rules

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

For most families, this is about convenience. Picture a Friday night after a long week. You order dinner for the family, and you add a margarita or an old fashioned for yourself. You pick it all up in one trip, drive home with the drink sealed, and relax on your own couch. That is the whole idea. It is dinner at home with a little of the restaurant feel.

The food rule changes how this works in daily life. In the City of Las Vegas, you cannot walk into a restaurant and buy just a to-go cocktail. You have to order a meal with it. City officials told FOX5 that the meal rule keeps restaurants from turning into liquor stores. For neighbors, that means the restaurant down the street stays a restaurant. It does not become a spot where people stop only for drinks.

It matters for the restaurants, too. Owners have been open about how hard the last few years have been. In early September, the owner of Taverna Costera in the Arts District told FOX5 that a big part of a restaurant's margin comes from alcohol. He said there is not much margin in food right now. When a restaurant can sell a drink with a takeout order, it earns more from the same customer. That can help a local spot keep its lights on and keep its staff working.

There is also a safety angle that local business owners raised. At a Henderson council meeting, the owner of Las Vegas Distillery argued that it is better for someone who wants a drink to have it at home than to drive to a bar, drink, and then drive home. That only works if people follow the rules. The drink stays sealed in the car, and it gets opened at home.

Finally, this matters because of where you live. Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas, and unincorporated Clark County each set their own rules. If you live in Summerlin, Spring Valley, or Green Valley, your closest restaurant may be under a totally different set of rules than one a few miles away. That patchwork is a big part of this story, and I will come back to it below.

There is a quieter benefit, too. Restaurant jobs are a big part of the local economy here. Servers, cooks, bartenders, and delivery drivers live in every corner of the valley. When a neighborhood restaurant has a slow night, those are the people who feel it first through fewer shifts and smaller tips. A new way to sell to customers at home can mean steadier hours for the people who work there. That money gets spent at the grocery store, on rent, and at other local businesses.

Background and History

Many people first saw to-go cocktails during the pandemic. When dining rooms closed, cities and states across the country let restaurants sell drinks with takeout orders. It was an emergency step to help businesses survive. For a lot of restaurants, including Slater's 50/50, it worked. When the emergency ended, so did most of those temporary rules.

Nevada made the idea permanent through state law. The Legislature passed Assembly Bill 375, which allows sealed alcohol to be sold for off-premises drinking. But the state law did not flip a switch everywhere at once. It lets each city or county set its own rules. Before a restaurant can sell a to-go drink, its local government has to pass an ordinance first. FOX5 reported that the state law does not require food with to-go drinks. That is why Las Vegas's meal rule is a local choice, not a state one.

The City of Las Vegas moved first. The council adopted its ordinance in early September, and restaurants could apply right away through the city's website. Local restaurant owners called it a win. The owner of Tacotarian, which has locations in the city, the county, and Henderson, told FOX5 that only her city location could now sell drinks to go. She said she was waiting on Clark County for the others.

Henderson followed about two weeks later. On Sept. 15, the Henderson City Council took the first step toward changing its liquor code to allow sealed to-go drinks from restaurants. Henderson city staff are now writing the ordinance language. It will come back to the council for a final vote. One big open question is whether Henderson copies the Las Vegas meal rule or goes without it.

Henderson business leaders made the money case plainly at that meeting. A representative of the Nevada Restaurant Association told the council that many restaurants have concluded they can no longer survive under current pressures. He said the change could bring real relief if the city adopts it. Restaurant owners across the valley have pointed to inflation and shrinking margins. In Downtown Las Vegas, some owners have also pointed to construction and parking problems cutting down on foot traffic. To them, to-go drinks are not a gimmick. They are a way to reach customers who are staying home more often.

Burgers and fries packed in a takeout box, showing the food-with-drink takeout order Las Vegas now allows under its to-go alcohol rules

What Happens Next

Watch Eureka! Downtown first. The city says the restaurant is working on its approval. If it gets the green light, it would be the second restaurant in the city to sell drinks to go. The city says several other restaurants have reached out about the rules. Most are holding off for now.

Why wait? It comes down to delivery. City rules do not allow to-go alcohol deliveries outside Las Vegas city limits. For a restaurant that serves customers all over the valley, that is a big limit. Many owners are waiting for neighboring cities and the county to pass matching rules before they jump in. The Nevada Restaurant Association told FOX5 that different rules in different parts of the valley could confuse people. That concern is likely to come up again as each local government acts.

Next, watch Henderson. City staff are drafting the ordinance now. FOX5 reports it is expected to come up for a council vote in the coming months. The food rule is the main debate. The Las Vegas Distillery owner spoke against any mandatory food rule. He said that kind of requirement was never part of the discussion when lawmakers passed the state law in Carson City. Slater's 50/50 plans to open a third valley location in Henderson soon. The company says it will adapt either way.

Clark County is the other one to watch. As of early September, FOX5 reported the county had not passed its own to-go ordinance. A huge share of the valley lives in unincorporated Clark County, including much of Spring Valley, Enterprise, and Paradise. Until the county acts, restaurants in those areas cannot sell drinks to go under this law.

Here is a simple way to track it. Right now, only restaurants inside City of Las Vegas limits can apply, and only one has been approved. Henderson is next in line, with a vote expected in the coming months. Clark County has not started a public process that I can confirm. As more restaurants get approved, expect to see signs at the counter and new options in restaurant apps. If your favorite spot does not offer it yet, the reason is most likely its city or county, not the restaurant itself.

Ryan's Take

I love this kind of story because it is about the places we actually go. Everyone has a go-to burger spot or taco place near home. When those spots get a new way to make money, the whole neighborhood benefits. Busy local restaurants make a shopping center feel alive. That matters more than people think when it comes to how a neighborhood feels and how buyers see it.

When I show homes, buyers ask me what is nearby. They want to know where they can grab dinner on a weeknight, and whether there is a place they can walk to or reach in five minutes. Strong local restaurants are part of what makes a neighborhood feel like home. Anything that helps them stay open is a good thing for the people who live around them.

I also like that Las Vegas set clear rules. A food purchase, a sealed container, and a seal you cannot fake. Those rules help this stay about dinner at home, not drinking on the road. The patchwork is going to be confusing for a while, though. If you live near a city line, like I see all the time with my clients in the northwest and in Henderson, the rules at one restaurant may not match the one across the street. Give it a few months to settle out.

A bartender straining an amber cocktail over a large ice cube, the kind of mixed drink Las Vegas restaurants can now sell to go in sealed containers

What You Can Do

Order it the right way. In the City of Las Vegas, plan to buy a meal with any to-go drink. That is the city's rule, even though state law does not require it. Bring your ID. You must be 21 or older to buy alcohol, and the restaurant will check.

Keep the seal on until you get home. Do not open or sip the drink in the car. Nevada's open container law bars open alcohol in the passenger area of a vehicle. Once the seal is broken, that drink counts as open. The safest move is to put it in the trunk or the back cargo area for the drive home. If the seal looks broken or loose when you pick it up, ask the restaurant for a new one.

An orange cocktail in a clear glass on a white table, a reminder that Las Vegas to-go cocktails are meant to be opened and enjoyed at home

Drink at home, not on the go. A to-go cocktail is not a license to drink on the sidewalk, at the park, or on the Strip. Many areas limit drinking in public. The easiest rule is this: open it at home, and enjoy it with your meal.

Plan ahead and drink responsibly. Know your limits. If you are having more than one, stay put for the night. Never drive after drinking. If you are hosting, have food and water on hand, and help your guests get home safely with a ride share or a sober driver.

Know your city. Check whether your favorite spot sits inside Las Vegas city limits, Henderson, North Las Vegas, or unincorporated Clark County. That decides whether it can sell drinks to go right now. If you run a restaurant inside the city, you can apply for the to-go endorsement through the City of Las Vegas. If you live in Henderson and want to weigh in on the food rule, watch the Henderson City Council agendas in the coming months. Public comment is open at council meetings.

Have questions about how this affects your home or neighborhood? Reach out to Ryan Rose or text/call 702-747-5921 anytime.