Ordinance change would abolish most bars’ 3 a.m. liquor license

A proposed city ordinance change would make it almost impossible for bars outside of downtown to maintain their 3 a.m. liquor license, says one local bar owner.

​In order for bars to keep their 3 a.m. permits, under the ordinance change, bars would need to be within 1.5 miles of a hotel with 100 rooms and have gross annual sales of $250,000. Currently, 3 a.m. bars are required to have $100,000 in sales and be near a hotel with as few as 40 rooms.

However, there are exemptions: bars in the Power & Light District. According to the text of the proposed change, “the director may waive the foregoing gross sales requirement for a business located in the downtown economic entertainment district if requested by the applicant and the request is supported by documentation that the business should produce annual gross sales equal to $250,000.00 or more.”

The changes seem written specifically to consolidate the city’s 3 a.m. nightlife to the downtown area. As stated in the fact sheet for the changes, “This change should limit 3:00 a.m. closing liquor permits in residential areas and allow them in the areas of the city that are more synonymous with convention and tourism areas.”

A hearing to amend Chapter 10 of the code of ordinances was originally scheduled for Thursday night’s Public Safety and Neighborhood’s Committee meeting, but it’s now tabled for three weeks (until the September 25 session). You can find both the the text of the change and a fact sheet on the recommendation here.

“Some of the bars are going to go out of business if they do that,” says Jim Hess, co-owner of Dave’s Stagecoach in Westport.