SALT LAKE CITY — A state lawmaker who wants to tear down the so-called "Zion curtain" in Utah restaurants says there's nothing to show that separating the pouring of alcoholic drinks and dining areas curbs underage drinking.

"If I had any evidence that the Zion wall reduced teen drinking, I'd be there," said Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden. "But there isn't."

The House Revenue and Taxation Committee gave HB228 a favorable recommendation Tuesday, but Wilcox expects the measure to change before it reaches the House floor.

"This bill is under heavy negotiation as we speak," he said.

Two restaurant owners spoke in favor of the bill during the committee meeting. No one spoke against it, though some legislators expressed concern about teenagers being exposed to and drinking alcohol.

"I have some empathy for the Zion curtain even though it's ugly," said Rep. Earl Tanner, R-West Jordan.

Rep. Eric Hutchings, R-Kearns, said young people who drink before their brains are fully developed are more likely to fall into addiction.

"It is not a theory," he said. "It is proven scientific fact."

Since 2009, the state has required restaurants to construct the 7-foot barriers to shield young people from liquor displays and the mixing of alcoholic beverages.

Wilcox said the law isn't applied evenly because eateries that opened before then weren't required to build a wall, which makes it difficult for the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control to enforce.

He called the law "silly" and a "model of inconsistency" that has created an uneven playing field. It especially hurts small, locally owned restaurants that often have limited seating capacity, Wilcox said.

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For 40 years, anybody wanting a drink in a Utah bar had to become private club members and pay a fee of $10 or more, and restaurants needed the so-called "Zion Curtain," a glass barrier between diners and drink preparation areas. Thanks to compromise legislation, those days are over.

"Not only does it take up floor space, it's an inconvenience for us," said Alex Montanez, owner of Rovali's Italian restaurant on Ogden's historic 25th Street.

Montanez said after a DABC inspector told him the wall he built wasn't good enough, he had to put up a fake olive tree to better hide the alcohol pouring area. He said his restaurant is so narrow that people must walk single file in the section near the barrier.

Blake Ballard, who owns the fine dining restaurant Spark in Provo, said his staff makes alcoholic drinks from a closet that doubles as his office. He said his employees refer to it as the "cloffice."

Young people, he said, don't go into a fine dining establishment to buy a $40 bottle of wine to get drunk on. They try to get alcohol from convenience stores and other outlets, he said.

Restaurants sell only 3 percent of the state's alcohol, said Melva Sine, executive director of the Utah Restaurant Association.

"The problem is not the restaurant industry in terms of selling alcohol," she said. "We are culturally responsible in the state of Utah."

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