Fiona Sites-Bowen estimates she hangs out at the Edgewood Corner Tavern at least three times per week. Last Tuesday at 9 p.m., she hosted a group of friends who shared in drinks and a large spread of food, with people later heading upstairs for pool night.
Last call for this frivolity was 2:15 a.m.
Bar clientele might receive more time for socializing in the future. The Atlanta City Council is debating a radical plan that would keep places such as the Edgewood Corner Tavern open until 4 a.m. on weeknights and 3 a.m. on Saturdays.
Councilman Kwanza Hall has introduced legislation that would create a pilot program to push back the closing times of bars in the Auburn-Edgewood area. The plan next would be studied through the end of next year to see if it is feasible to expand extended bar hours throughout the city.
“I am not a person who hangs out until 4 a.m. but I know plenty of people who do, and I think it would be good for the bars,” Sites-Bowen said. “With the downturn in the economy, bars need to be open longer. Alcohol, for a lot of these businesses, means a great source of revenue.”
Atlanta bars have closed at 2:30 a.m. only since 2003, when community leaders and homeowners complained that particular nightlife was out of control and the 4 a.m. closing hour was voted out.
Anticipating another fight, the council’s public safety committee on Tuesday refused to vote on the bill and set up a task force to debate the matter.
Veteran councilman C.T. Martin, involved in all of the previous battles over bar hours, said Hall’s plan to target a specific area will bring out critics who say it benefits only a handful of people.
“It is not sound right now and you are opening up a can of worms,” Martin said. “This hours thing is toxic.”
On a given night, the Edgewood area is busy, though not necessarily making huge economic inroads. Pal’s Lounge usually is giddy with karaoke and the Black Lion Café is loud with reggae and hip-hop. Livelier spots yet are the Café Circa, Rolling Bones Barbecue and Danneman’s Coffee.
Edgewood still hardly resembles Midtown, Atlantic Station and Buckhead in their heyday. For every open establishment, there probably are five boarded-up ones, which Hall points to as potential businesses if his plan goes into effect.
“You not only would be creating businesses in this area but you would also be saving existing businesses,” Hall said during a recent walking tour of the area.
One reason Hall is pushing for extended hours is to increase the city’s tax base. By staying open later, bars would have to apply for special permits and they would generate more taxable income that benefits the businesses and the city, the councilman said.
Rolling Bones Barbecue owner Todd Richards, who locks his doors at 9 p.m. when foot and car traffic slow down on Edgewood, agreed that later operating hours would be positive.
“Think about it, from 2:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. there is no revenue being generated in this area at all,” said Richards, who would consider staying open later if allowed. “If you give an extra two hours to just four bars that is another million dollars in this area, and that makes sense. When downtown is just a mile away, it doesn’t make sense not to have a vibrant area like this.”
Councilman Michael Julian Bond, who co-sponsored Hall’s original bill, wants the task force to come up with a clear plan to help create an entertainment district, something he already is working on.
Bond chairs the parking sub-committee, which is mulling ways to create special districts that would coincide with parking regulations. Under that scenario, Auburn-Edgewood could become an entertainment district with special parking hours to go along with extended drinking times.
“That is part of marketing the city,” Bond said.
Not everyone is excited about changing bar hours. Only minutes after watching police arrest a man for breaking into a car in front of Edgewood Corner Tavern, bar manager John Rodgers said there were ramifications from longer operating hours to consider.
“I used to work when we closed at 4 a.m.,” Rodgers said. “It is good for the weekends, but I don’t think much will change for us on the weekdays.”