Tuscaloosa weighs pros and cons of earlier closing times for bars

Tuscaloosa bars won't be cutting back to midnight closing anytime soon, though the city has begun seeking solutions to what's seen as a late-night public safety issue.

The 4 p.m. Tuesday Council Administration and Policy Committee Meeting included "Bars, Taverns, and Gastropubs Conditional Use Discussion" on its agenda, which brought alarmed business owners and others to the Daugherty Conference Room.

Some may have conflated that agenda item with June 29, when, following the urging of Brett Blankley, chief of the Tuscaloosa Police Department, the full City Council voted for a moratorium on new bars, taverns and gastropubs, effective through the end of 2023.

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Tuesday, the chief made a joke about not being "at war" on bars, but only against adding anything until TPD staff shortages can be addressed.

"So technically, I'm taking out your competition, I guess," he said, speaking directly to Tripp Rogers, owner of Innisfree Irish Pub, and Michael Musgrove, an investor in The Rabbit Hole, and owner of Red Elephant Rentals.

After dispensing of the first 13 agenda items in 15 minutes, Councilor John Faile, District 6 representative and chair of the committee, made a statement welcoming visitors. Discussions followed for about 34 minutes.

"It's not really a public forum," Faile said. "And so you know, we're not going to vote on anything. We're just going to discuss it today ... and we won't be voting on anything to do with this tonight" at the evening's full City Council meeting. "I think there might have been a misunderstanding about some of this .... "

Though he didn't make a formal resolution, Faile advocated changing bar closing times to midnight Monday through Thursday, and 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, possibly adding an extra hour on the seven Crimson Tide home football weekends.

"This may seem radical to the bar owners, but we must do something different if we are to make a positive change for our city," he said.

As many as 3,700 bar patrons may spill out onto streets at closing, Blankley said, mainly on The Strip, adjacent to the University of Alabama, or in the downtown entertainment district. Tuscaloosa spans 70.3 square miles, but 29 of the city's 39 bars and gastropubs — establishments that sell food earlier, but essentially turn over into bars later at night — are concentrated across just half a dozen city blocks, according to comments by Faile and Mayor Walt Maddox.

"Our biggest problem is the let-out periods," Blankley said. On the Strip, three "mega bars" and other side street bars empty at once. "That creates our most chaotic time during the night."

Staggered closing times was suggested, or permit fees to allow later hours, but Maddox noted such moves would need "enabling legislation" from the state of Alabama.

Blankley said he didn't know the answer, but seemed to concur with Musgrove that a "trickle effect" adaptation might work, with alcohol cutoff an hour or so before closing, instead of the current 15 minutes.

"I know that's the last thing y'all probably thought you would hear from me," the chief said, the idea of leaving businesses open later, rather than cutting back. "And I'm not saying that's the way to go, but I think it needs to have some thought behind it."

Tuscaloosa bars and lounges currently can open until 2 a.m. Saturdays, and Mondays through Thursdays; until 3 a.m. Fridays; and until 10:30 p.m. Sundays. Patrons hear "last call" at 1:45 a.m. most nights, 2:45 on Fridays, and 10:15 Sundays. "You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" rings out just minutes later.

Losing two hours a night may not seem like much, Rogers said, but noted that over the course of a year, that adds up to 26 days of missing business. Looking at figures from three others in the local hospitality industry, he calculated those four places could lose a total of from $2.8 to $3 million, over the course of a year, by cutting back those hours.

"We will have to lay off people," he said, many of them college students working their ways through school.Musgrove urged the council to consider alternative solutions, taking input from business owners. Kelly Fitts, a downtown resident, spoke to encourage changes, saying this wasn't a new problem, but a growing one.

Maddox expressed appreciation for the process thus far.

"This is what democracy is about, this is what good governance is about, and I think talking about these issues is smart and wise," he said.

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Tuscaloosa leaders, bar owners debate merits of earlier closing times