City Councilmember proposes later bar hours — for a fee
July 21, 2008 at 3:53 pm by Thomas Wheatley in NewsThe Atlanta Business Chronicle reports City Council member Ceasar Mitchell is proposing bars in the city stay open past 3 a.m. if they pay an “impact fee” to cover additional safety and sanitation services.
So sayeth Mitchell:
“My objective at this point is to find a way to embrace night life as one of those things that makes Atlanta a great city,” he said. “Something that makes Atlanta attractive to visitors and those who live here but at the same time not make it something that is a burden on folks that live and work here.”
Mitchell says the city is losing convention and tourist dollars to other cities who have a more vibrant nightlife.
There’s a little commotion about his proposal. Residents in Buckhead, who fought their own bitter battle to roll back the hours in 2003, and the increasingly popular Castleberry Hill neighborhood who were interviewed for the story think it’s a bad idea.
The article also says Mitchell would like to extend the pouring hours at Underground Atlanta, which already can serve booze until 4 a.m. Now if we can just get going on Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts’ casino idea, we’d be well on our way to a New Orleans lifestyle.
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October 7th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Thank God someone has recognized that atlanta nightlife has become an embarrassment. I grew up in Atlanta and always felt that our nightlife was bigger than our city. It was the best. Now there is very little that distiquishes living in the city from the burbs. Quite frankly, it is almost not worth putting up with the crime and poor city services if there is nothing extraordinary about living in the city.