Bars in Athens will stop serving alcohol at 11:30 p.m. following a settlement agreement reached Thursday evening between pub owners and county officials.
A lawsuit was filed late last month after the Athens-Clarke County Commission voted 8-1 to approve a measure imposing a 10 p.m. cutoff on drink sales in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19 in the college town.
The measure was opposed by many bar and restaurant owners who argued that being forced to close early would destroy local businesses already struggling to stay afloat amid the pandemic.
Under an updated ordinance approved by commissioners Friday morning, bars will stop serving alcohol at 11:30 p.m. and must be cleared by midnight, Attorney Mo Wiltshire told AJC.com. The ordinance goes into effect tonight.
Wiltshire represented five downtown businesses that brought the lawsuit, but said they were supported by a “broad coalition” of bar and restaurant owners from across Clarke County.
Previously, Athens bars were allowed to remain open until 2 a.m.
While the business owners agreed to compromise on an 11:30 p.m. last call, Wiltshire said they would have preferred to stay open later, especially since some of the bars don’t even open until 9 or 10 p.m.
“We would like to stay open as we normally would and run our businesses,” he said. “But our people feel like they can stay open and keep their employees working with a midnight shutdown a lot better than they can at 10 p.m.”
To assist businesses struggling with a loss of revenue from the earlier closing times, Athens-Clarke County officials said they will maintain reduced alcohol license fees through 2022 and “make certain concessions” on penalties and interest for excise taxes on bars.
During Friday’s special called meeting, however, at least one commissioner lashed out at bar owners, arguing they weren’t doing enough to control the spread of the coronavirus.
“Folks need to know the risks they are taking,” Commissioner Melissa Link said. “And these folks who have brought this suit and have refused to take any measures whatsoever to curb this spread — they do have blood on their hands.”
A mask mandate implemented in early August will remain in effect under the updated ordinance. Wiltshire said since the mask mandate, no downtown businesses have been cited for failing to comply with safety protocols.
“We’re happy to wear the masks. We want everybody to stay safe and wash their hands,” he said. “This was never about the masks. This was about the ability to try to keep the lights on, pay your rent and pay your employees.”
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