Happy hour is a tradition at a lot of bars and restaurants, and on Jan. 29, Virginia establishments will be able to advertise it.

The Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control announced Thursday that it received final approval on its proposed regulation changes. Restaurants will be able to market happy hour and the time span of their drink specials more broadly.

Previously, Virginia restaurants could only promote happy hour inside the establishment or on a 17-by-22-inch sign attached to the outside of the business, according to a release from Virginia ABC.

However, promoting specific happy hour drink prices and specials will still be restricted, which is a buzz-kill for some restaurants owners. Even after the changes, prices for after-work cocktails will still be hidden from view.

Happy hour is typically held during the few lingering hours after most people get off work and before they come trickling into the bars, and it can be tough to promote without advertising. Some places had to get creative.

Metro in downtown Roanoke offers half-priced sushi, one of its best known dishes, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., as well as drink specials from 5 to 9 p.m., but the food is all that can be advertised. For Metro owner Andy Schlosser, happy hour is good for business. At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, there was only one seat left in the restaurant, he said. And he gave a spirited welcome to the Virginia ABC regulation changes.

“Anything will help,” he said. He isn’t sure exactly how he is going to advertise — he said he needed to read the changes in detail to see what he could do — but he will do it.

“If you can maximize advertising at all, we do it,” he said.

Down the street at Blues BBQ restaurant, general manager Karen Wright was still considering what her establishment will do. Blues BBQ offers a happy hour from 4 to 7 p.m. that is frequented by mostly regular customers.

“If you’re an established restaurant or bar, most people know what those hours are,” she said. “I’m not sure if it will change it [business] or affect it that much.”

Chip Moore, who owns Annie Moore’s Pub, Brambleton Deli and The Quarter, said the regulations for Virginia happy hours need to change even more.

“I don’t see how that’s going to do anybody a lot of good,” Moore said and pointed out that restaurants are still unable to advertise regular pricing.

“They’ve made a small move in the right direction. So at least they’re doing that,” he said.

Virginia is one of only a handful of states that restrict happy hour ads.

“All happy hour restrictions are intended to promote moderation in consumption, since reduced prices have the potential to encourage increased consumption,” ABC spokeswoman Kathleen Shaw said in an email.

The changes to the ads stemmed from a regulatory review Virginia ABC conducted in 2011, which involved gathering input from alcohol representatives, restaurant owners and the public. In a release, ABC Chief Operating Officer Curtis Coleburn said the review was “focused on public safety and business-friendly decisions.”

Shaw also said in an email that while some restaurants would like to advertise more details, the “vast majority” of opinions expressed on the regulation proposals indicated they opposed advertising of specific specials.

Staff writer Jordan Fifer contributed to this story.