NYC Lawyer Sues To End Bottomless Brunches In Trendy Neighborhood

Bottomless brunches are a beloved New York institution. Unlimited mimosas might add a lot of calories, but a lot of people relish the opportunity to enjoy the weekend with eggs Benedict and all the mimosas a person can drink. Not everybody loves bottomless brunches, however, and now a lawyer is suing to ban the indulgent meal.

According to the New York Post, Robert Halpern is a 62-year-old attorney who lives on First Avenue and St. Marks Place in New York's trendy East Village. He's suing the State Liquor Authority for allowing boozy brunches, which he says encourage drinking, noise, and "uncivil behavior."

Unlimited drinks deals are not technically legal in New York, but bottomless brunches are allowed on the grounds that the unlimited alcohol is "incidental to the event."

Halpern says that doesn't make any sense at all. He alleges that the original intent of the law was to allow unlimited drink service at things like weddings, parties, or other special events. He doesn't think brunch should count, even if the brunch includes the 50 best brunch dishes of 2017.

"Alcoholic beverages are not 'incidental' to the bottomless brunches, they are intrinsic to them," he said, adding that he didn't see anything particularly special about brunch.

Bottomless brunches got a boost last summer when New York overturned a law from 1934 that banned restaurants from serving alcohol before noon on Sundays. Restaurateurs and brunch-lovers were thrilled to be able to start bottomless brunch service earlier.