Restaurants now part of Ohio sales tax holiday, with exceptions. What Akron diners need to know

David Sharp, who owns several restaurants in Summit County including three Bricco locations with wife, Stacy, is aware of the annual Ohio sales tax holiday , which has historically helped families avoid sales tax for back-to-school items.

What he was not aware of is the fact that for the first time ever his restaurants and other local eateries will also potentially benefit from the holiday when customers opt to dine in.

"My wife and I know about the sales tax holiday that happens every year but no one from the state reached out to us directly saying how restaurants are included in this program this year, and I'm sure we are not the only ones," Sharp said.

At least three other restaurant owners the Beacon Journal reached out to said they didn't want to comment for this story, but did note that the state also had not notified them that restaurants were a part of the sales tax holiday this year.

From 3 days to 10: Ohio sales holiday getting bigger this summer

"I think it's a great idea to drive people into the restaurants, and if it brings in more business for us, well then that is even better," Sharp said.

Brian Canale, owner of White House Chicken and DeVore's Hopocan Gardens in Barberton, shared a similar sentiment.

"I am excited for this sales tax holiday to run longer and expand to include dine-in restaurants. I am curious as to whether or not there will be a noticeable impact as far as a higher volume of customers dining in," Canale said. "I know that in the past the focus of this holiday has been for back-to-school shopping, so it'll be interesting to see whether our sales are enhanced."

Note that alcoholic beverages and soft drinks are excluded so they will still be taxed. Again, that means the sales-tax holiday will apply only to dine-in meals and a can or bottle of pop you might add to a carryout order.

When is Ohio's sales tax holiday?

Ohioans are days away from the annual sales tax holiday, which begins at midnight Tuesday and has been expanded from three to 10 days this year, ending on Aug. 8 at 11:59 p.m. This year, customers can purchase sales tax-free items at restaurants as well, as long as they are dining in. Full tax will have to paid on all carryout items.

Previous sales tax holidays included only school-related items. There were also lower purchase price limits, so customers would be tax-exempt on items that cost up to $75 for an item of clothing or $20 per school supply item. This year, the sales tax holiday allows for tax-free purchases either in-person or online on items up to $500. Items exempt from this holiday include anything that costs more than $500, as well as motor vehicles, alcoholic beverages and tobacco.

“This expanded sales tax break will help Ohio’s families with back-to-school necessities as well as other substantial purchases during a time when so many household budgets are being strained," Gov. Mike DeWine said in a May news release.

Will Ohio sales tax holiday really benefit restaurants?

While Sharp looks forward to see how his businesses will be affected by the sales tax holiday, he does have a few reservations. Mostly, he wants to make sure his staff is properly trained to remove the sales tax.

"Most restaurants' POS (point of sale) systems are set up to either charge tax or not charge tax, and the only way to get rid of tax is to ring things in to-go," Sharp said. "So staff is going to have be trained on how to remove the sales tax properly. There's no way to set up the system where it automatically removes the sales tax from certain items."

Sharp also noted potential staffing issues that could arise from this year's extended tax holiday, but he hopes to be able to work around it as the holiday progresses.

"I don't know how much traffic the tax holiday is going to drive in, and I can't afford to put on extra labor and hope that someone is able to come in," Sharp said. "We don't want to overstaff, but we don't want to be under prepared either, because if we are, everyone's check times would be longer and customers may complain."

The holiday, which has been around since 2015 , allows Ohioans to be exempt from the state's 5.75% sales tax and any additional sales taxes from both county and local levels.

The Columbus Dispatch contributed to this report.

Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@gannett.com, or on Twitter @athompsonABJ

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Restaurants now part of Ohio sales tax holiday, with exceptions. What Akron diners need to know