A restaurant owner is pushing for officials to let restaurants and bars sell alcohol to go permanently.

Gov. Ned Lamont's current executive order lets restaurants and bars sell alcohol along with takeout food, something he enacted to help businesses during the COVID-19 shutdown. But that order is set to expire in September.

Chef John Brennan is an owner of Elm City Social in New Haven and Olives and Oil in New Haven and Seymour.

Brennan has started a petition to turn that executive order into legislation and allow restaurants and bars to continue to include alcohol on their to-go menus.

He says the executive order has been a source of income that his restaurants need right now. Even with it, Brennan says business is only about 25% what it was pre-pandemic.

"We're not asking for too much," he said. "I'd pretty much want to follow the same guidelines that are mandated for us in the executive order, which is that we can sell alcoholic beverages to go in sealed containers with, accompanied by takeout food and also maintaining the same hours as a package store."

Brennan is asking people to contact their state lawmakers about potential legislation.

Brennan says other states have enacted similar laws and there have been no real issues the past few months with the executive order.