THE NATION - News from May 13, 2009

Utah bartenders may serve alcoholic drinks to patrons directly over bar counters instead of having to walk around them under a new law that has just taken effect.

Partitions known as “Zion curtains” -- usually made of glass -- that separate bartenders from customers began coming down early in the day. The name is a reference to the state’s religious heritage as the home of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which tells its members to abstain from alcohol.

Under terms of the law, existing restaurants may remove the curtain but newly built restaurants have to prepare drinks in a back room, out of customers’ view.