DeKalb to roll back bar hours?
September 24, 2007 at 3:18 pm by Mara Shalhoup in News, Scene & HerdWhen it comes to late-night drinking, DeKalb County could be going the slightly more sober way of Atlanta.
A proposal that’s scheduled to be heard tomorrow by the DeKalb Commission calls for bar-closing times in the county to be rolled back — from current last calls of 4 a.m. Monday through Friday and 3 a.m. Saturday through Sunday, to a much stricter 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday and midnight Sunday.
That’s 14 fewer bar hours per week.
According to the proposed ordinance, which was drafted by Commissioner Jeff Rader:
DeKalb County desires to improve the quality of life in all of its communities and neighborhoods by minimizing late night crime, loitering and other deleterious conduct associated with the presence of retail establishments that sell and serve alcoholic beverages.
The timing of the proposal coincides with neighbors’ concerns about an influx of nightclubs into north DeKalb — including megaclub the Velvet Room and Jermaine Dupri’s swanky Studio 72 — that resemble the now-shuttered clubs of Buckhead’s tumultuous party era.
The city of Atlanta’s closing times once were consistent with DeKalb’s — until 2004, when Atlanta City Council slashed bar hours following a series of fatal bar brawls. If DeKalb follows suit, that could stem an influx of bars that had banked on later last calls; under the proposed ordinance, DeKalb’s bars would close a half-hour earlier than Atlanta’s most nights.
The proposal — which would take effect Jan. 1, 2008 — would not affect bars in the city of Decatur, including Azul, which hosts the wildly popular Friday night dance party Decatur Social Club.
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September 25th, 2007 at 2:47 pm
But what will “Mr. CEO” do after 2 a.m.?
September 26th, 2007 at 11:11 am
This is ATLANTA, not hicksville USA. The ordinance will not work, people will just take the parties “underground”, like they were in the rave days.
September 26th, 2007 at 3:00 pm
Good. The paries belong “underground.” DeKalb isn’t Atlanta, it’s a suburb. We don’t need clubs in DeKalb. We need nice restaurants and decent shopping. I live in DeKalb and can’t even find anything decent to spend my money on, I have to go into Atlanta.
September 27th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
This is a bad idea - the thing about a 2am close is that everyone in the bars (or clubs, particularly) stays until 2am exactly, and then they all leave at the same time. So what happens when 200 drunk people get shoved out at once? Well, lots of drunk driving (not enough cabs), fights, violence, stupid hookups, etc. What happens if the closing time is 4am? Well, some leave at 2, some stay until 3, and by 4 only a few hard-partiers are holding out. There are plenty of cabs, fewer fights, and no one falls for that \\
October 3rd, 2007 at 10:01 pm
BJ you are stupid - didn’t you know that DeKalb is the hood anyway. And do you really shop late at night silly -what does shopping have to do with clubbing and barhopping. Eyeopener for you, Dekalb is in not a suburb anymore - they are apart of metro-Atlanta and their murders and drug action is almost as high as the City of Atlanta. Oh BJ . . .
October 4th, 2007 at 8:05 am
Angela, you think “crime” means “city”? Oh Angela…
October 5th, 2007 at 7:59 am
i’m more in favor of an early last call time, but a late closing time. as bfunk said: you don’t want that many intoxicated people hitting the road at once. closing at 3 or 4 a.m. gives folks time to sober up a bit if last call is at 2 a.m.
but as someone who lives within walking distance of a club where someone was shot and killed this summer, i am so. okay. with an earlier closing time.