--- title: "Promoting Responsible Alcohol Service" url: https://burnaze.com/article/9e2fd67c-db03-46b7-b8ae-be339f017a83 source: "Modern Restaurant Management" original_url: https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/promoting-responsible-alcohol-service/ author: "Barbara Castiglia" category: "Restaurants" industry: "Restaurants" published: 2026-10-06T19:54:17.000Z modified: 2026-10-31T13:20:42.654Z image: https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/assets/media/2026/10/getty-images-b6kef9Kr2kg-unsplash-1024x683.jpg --- # Promoting Responsible Alcohol Service **TL;DR:** Responsibility.org launched Serving with CARE, a free and voluntary initiative to promote responsible alcohol service at restaurants, bars, and other hospitality venues. The initiative aims to build a safer nightlife culture and empower customers to make responsible alcohol choices. *By Barbara Castiglia, originally published in Modern Restaurant Management on 2026-10-06. [Read the original](https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/promoting-responsible-alcohol-service/).* ## Story To build a safer nightlife culture at restaurants, bars and other hospitality venues,, Responsibility.org launched Serving with CARE. Operators who commit to the free and voluntary initiative agree to the uphold the core principles including: - Train all alcohol-serving staff in responsible alcohol service. - Go beyond legal requirements to prevent underage access to alcohol. - Empower customers to make responsible alcohol choices. - Support safe trips home and encouraging transportation alternatives when appropriate. The effort is in support of organization’s research finding: - 81 percent of consumers expect hospitality venues to promote responsible alcohol consumption. - 70 percent see bars or restaurants committed to clear standards for responsible alcohol service more positively than those without clear standards. - 64 percent are more likely to visit establishments committed to alcohol responsibility. “Four out of five of consumers expect hospitality venues to promote responsible alcohol consumption,” explained Leslie Kimball, Executive Director of Responsibility.org. “We are delighted that more people are making mindful, intentional choices when it comes to their beverage choices. Serving with CARE will heighten that awareness, emphasizing that responsibility lies with each of us, and that we all have a part to play.” The initiative also dovetails with Responsibility.org’s three missions: to eliminate underage drinking, to eliminate drunk and impaired driving, and to empower responsible alcohol choices among adults who choose to drink, Kimball said. Venues will be encouraged to inform and reward team members who champion responsible alcohol service as well as collaborate with local partners and community stakeholders to promote alcohol safety and responsibility. Each venue must self-certify online each calendar year in order to maintain Serving with CARE status. More than 400 venues nationwide are already members. Being Hospitality rules and regulations—including those for serving beverage alcohol—differ by state and even at the local level, the Serving with CARE initiative empowers hospitality venues across the nation to speak the same shared language, Kimball noted. “Serving with CARE members prioritize and make a commitment to training, it is not providing or recommending one program over another. When you walk into a restaurant or bar that displays the Serving with CARE logo, you can be assured that the venue keeps responsibility top-of-mind.” Each Serving with CARE principle starts with the restaurant and “trickles down” to the consumer, Kimball said. Whether it is a notice that they will take extra steps to not serve individuals below the legal drinking age, having a plan in place to ensure that customers are not overserved, offer no-alcohol beverages, provide customers with options to help them get home safely, or just letting an individual know what is in their drink, especially if the beverage that they are enjoying contains more than a standard pour of alcohol. “Serving with CARE creates servers who care, and that creates a better environment for everyone. Confidently trained staff empower customers, and informed customers are better equipped to make responsible decisions.” The organization collaborates with SAFE Bar Network and understands the value of proper ID check and the use of the F.L.A.G. method for all guests, which helps employees properly check identification and de-escalate situations in which customers may become agitated when asked to produce identification, Kimball explained, adding that best practices can include providing water to all guests, making food options available, and having a choice of beverages to include low- and no-alcohol choices. ## Entities - QSR (sector) - Modern Restaurant Management (publication) - Barbara Castiglia (person) - consumer expectations (topic) - initiative launch (topic) - alcohol service (topic) - Responsibility.org (company) - Leslie Kimball (person) - SAFE Bar Network (company) - hospitality venues (topic) - responsible consumption (topic) --- Originally reported by Barbara Castiglia, Modern Restaurant Management (https://modernrestaurantmanagement.com/promoting-responsible-alcohol-service/). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/9e2fd67c-db03-46b7-b8ae-be339f017a83).