News

By Sallie James

    When most city bars and restaurants are shutting down for the night, the after-hours crowd at Nippers and the Blue Martini is just starting to drift in.
    But the last call for alcohol may get moved up, and the owners of these bars say the change would put them out of business.
City Council members at their March 28 meeting introduced an ordinance prohibiting businesses from serving alcohol after 2 a.m. The change only affects bars in the once-unincorporated Town Center area that were previously allowed to stay open until 5 a.m. Nippers and the Blue Martini Lounge are in the crosshairs.
    “I will be shutting down. It will put me out of business,” said Nippers owner Carlos Ber, who owns the 30-year-old watering hole at 21069 Military Trail. “I serve food here until 4:30 a.m. This is where everybody comes to unwind.”
    Bruce Gregory, general manager of Blue Martini, echoed Ber’s concerns.
    “If we were to lose those three hours, it would be catastrophic to our business,” Gregory said. “If there is anything we can do to make the situation better . . . we are all supporting it.” Council members did not discuss the ordinance, which will be further reviewed at a later date.
    The city generally prohibits the sale of alcohol between 2 and 7 a.m. However, when the Town Center area was annexed in 2003, city officials agreed to grandfather in existing businesses that served alcohol under county rules until 5 a.m.
    Ber said Nippers gets 75 percent of its business from customers who arrive between 2 a.m. and 5 a.m.
    Most of Ber’s clientele are bar and restaurant employees who frequent his business when they get off work.
    Nippers has a staff of about 17 and a maximum capacity of 175. Ber said occasional fights break out, but nothing serious.
    “I have called the police four times in the past few years. Nothing big,” Ber said.
    Mayor Susan Haynie proposed the ordinance.
    “Some of the residents, especially out in the Via Verde area, have been speaking with me with concerns regarding a couple of establishments that ... have alcohol sales well into the morning hours,” Haynie said at the council’s Feb. 27 workshop.
    The new ordinance, if approved, would give businesses 120 days to comply.