More and longer happy hours and discounts that bar and restaurant owners will be able to offer are part of changes to Pennsylvania's alcohol laws approved by state lawmakers. Len Semplice, owner of Redbeard's Bar & Grill in Mount Washington and Downtown Pittsburgh, believes the changes will definitely boost business. “Now they want to extend happy hour from 14 to 24 hours (per week). I personally never understood why you could only do specials on alcohol during the 14 hours, because we as owners, bartenders and servers are all certified on when we can and cannot refuse to serve a customer,” Semplice told Pittsburgh's Action News 4. The changes were approved by the state House and Senate and sent to Gov. Josh Shapiro for his signature. They would go into effect 60 days after he signs the bill. “I think it's positive. I think it will definitely give us and the industry as a whole more flexibility to do different things to attract patrons to the building, and I think patrons will appreciate it as well,” said Eugene Mangrum, managing partner at Shiloh Gastro in Mount Washington. “People aren’t spending as much money as they used to, so I think any discount that can be put in place to help them would be appreciated and well received by the community as a whole.” Customers who spoke to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 agree. “I’m all for it. Anything that helps the tavern owners and the customers. It’s a great idea and good for the state of Pennsylvania,” said Gary Beswick, a restaurant patron at Shiloh Gastro. “I think it’s a great idea. I think it’s going to attract a lot of people and support the businesses. It’s going to bring more money into the community. All in all, I think it’s a win-win,” said Katie Schuett, a customer at Shiloh Gastro. “I think it's going to be great for the Pittsburgh community to have a chance to go along with these new changes and go out more. The nightlife here is great. I think this will give us the opportunity to enjoy that even more,” said Kennedy McKinney, a restaurant patron at Sienna Mercato in the downtown Cultural District. “I think this will help a lot of businesses and also working people will have more time after work to enjoy themselves and have a nice break after a long day.” Torri Sealey, another Sienna Mercato customer, said, “I think these changes will be a good thing for the Pittsburgh area because it will reach more people who otherwise might not have the opportunity to come and enjoy happy hour.” The expanded outdoor alcohol serving seating approved during the pandemic will be made permanent under the legislation. Brett Sanders, the bar manager at Sienna Mercato, likes the change to allow drinks as part of discounted combo meals and to be able to include up to two drinks with event tickets. “We don't have a very long happy hour here at our business anyway, so I don't know if extending happy hours is really going to affect us, although I know it's going to have a positive impact on a lot of businesses around us,” Sanders said. “I had no idea that was even legislated, so it's a little surprising,” said Ron Baraff, a customer at Shiloh Gastro. “Anything that brings in more people and gets them to spend more money at establishments like that is a good thing.”Mangrum welcomes the increase in the number of happy hours allowed each week. “I think that's a positive. I think it gives us the opportunity to maybe do something later in the evening. I don't know what the time restrictions are,” Mangrum said.Semplice likes the whole change.”Every single change will definitely boost business,” Semplice said. “Restaurants are still suffering right now. It's never recovered like it was before (the pandemic), so we have to try to reinvent our businesses and try different things to attract customers.”