After a Mexican restaurant stayed open till 3 a.m., this NJ town changed the law

Philip DeVencentis, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read
15

NORTH HALEDON — Officials are tweaking a longstanding section of the municipal code that allowed local bars to serve alcohol until 3 a.m. on certain nights.

It was a slight nuance that went unnoticed for decades until New Year’s Eve when Cinco de Mayo Bar & Restaurant at 371 High Mountain Road advertised a $100-per-person holiday bash with dinner, drinks and live music. The flyer was posted on its Facebook page.

“There was no way that we could stop them,” said Mayor Randy George.

Sandwich board advertises $5 drink specials during happy hour at Cinco de Mayo Bar & Restaurant.
Sandwich board advertises $5 drink specials during happy hour at Cinco de Mayo Bar & Restaurant.

But the Borough Council found a way to prevent it from happening in the future, introducing an ordinance to change the last call for alcohol service to 2 a.m., which is more the norm in New Jersey.

The amendment will likely sail through when the council meets again Wednesday night. “We’re a small town,” George said. “If you can’t get it done by 2 o’clock, you can’t get it done.”

Under an ordinance adopted in November 1983, bars were allowed to serve alcohol until 3 a.m. on Sundays and on New Year’s Day.

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Cinco de Mayo, which has been in business for 10 years, holds one of five liquor licenses in the borough: Grand Opening Liquors on High Mountain Road has a distribution permit, and there are four active consumption permits.

A series of Italian eateries occupied the premises before Cinco de Mayo moved in: Stephen A. Restaurant, Ristorante Florio and Morzetta.

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The latest hour that Cinco de Mayo remains open under usual circumstances is 10:30 p.m., and George said the borough has never experienced an issue with its patrons or staff.

“We don’t want to have problems with them,” George said. “We have to respect the neighbors who live around there.”

Philip DeVencentis is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ suburb tweaks alcohol sales law on its books for 40 years