Bar closing time changes on the table, but not 'silver bullet,' Metro Council says

Louisville Metro Council members say they are open to Mayor Craig Greenberg's suggestion to look at changing bar closing times following an early morning mass shooting over the weekend, but several approached the topic with nuance.

Ben Reno-Weber, a Democrat who represents the popular Bardstown Road bar strip in District 8, said he wants to look at best practices in other places before making any kind of recommendation.

"So, could changing bar closing times be a part of that conversation? One hundred percent," he said. "Is that going to be a silver bullet? Absolutely not."

Councilman Andrew Owen, a Democrat who represents District 9, which borders Reno-Weber's district, said he might consider looking more into closing times but would want the conversation to include business and tourism needs.

"We have very few tools in our toolkit," he said. "And one of those tools could be to roll back the closing time if we think that could be something."

Under current regulations, licensed restaurants and bars can sell liquor, wine and beer from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Saturday and from 1 to 11:59 p.m. on Sunday. However, establishments with an "extended hour supplemental license" can continue serving alcohol between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m. any day of the week.

Greenberg called on Metro Council to reconsider the closing times after a shooting at 3 a.m. downtown outside Southern Restaurant and Lounge, 301 W. Market St. Police said the altercation started between restaurant-goers and people on the street.

At a press conference Sunday, Greenberg said: "There are too many of these incidents happening in the middle of the night when bars and clubs are the only businesses that are still open. So today, I’m calling on my colleagues at Metro Council to begin conversations with our administration and the community to determine whether bars in our city should stay open until 4 a.m. Or, like many other cities in America, 2 a.m. is late enough.

"Let’s have these conversations.”

Here's how nearby cities' laws compare for the sale of alcohol in bars and restaurants:

• Indianapolis: Alcohol can be sold between 7 a.m. and 3 a.m. all days of the week.

• Nashville: Beer and wine can be sold by bars and restaurants from 6 a.m. to 3 a.m. Monday through Saturday, while liquor is sold from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. All alcohol can be sold from 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. on Sundays. However, two bars are allowed to serve alcohol 23 hours a day.

• Memphis: Wine and beer can be served from 7 a.m. and 3 a.m. Monday through Saturday, while liquor is served just one hour later, from 8 a.m. to 3 a.m. Liquor, beer and wine can be served from noon Sunday to 3 a.m.

• Chicago: Businesses may not serve alcohol later than 2 a.m. Sunday through Friday, or past 3 a.m. Saturday evening into Sunday morning, unless they obtain an extended hour permit. In that case, the hours change to 4 a.m. and 5 a.m., respectively.

• Cincinnati: Alcoholic beverages can be served at bars and restaurants from 5:30 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday through Saturday and from 10 a.m. to midnight on Sunday.

Councilman Jecorey Arthur, an independent who represents District 4, in which Southern Restaurant is located, said he's open to discussing any policy that addresses violence. But "what I don't want to do is punish every single business owner who has a bar that's open until 4 a.m."

But Arthur is concerned about changing closing times as a solution, pointing to 2023 Louisville Metro Police data that shows the most homicides, 28.7%, occur between 8 and 11:59 p.m. The next highest time frame for homicides is from 4 to 8 p.m., at 18.5%. Meanwhile, midnight to 4 a.m. is the third-highest time, at 17.6%.

There was a similar trend in 2022. The year ended with nearly half of all homicides occurring between 4 p.m. and midnight. In 2021, it was over half, at 52.1%.

"By the mayor's logic, we should close bars between 4 p.m. and midnight because that's mostly when people got killed last year," Arthur said.

This is not the first time city officials have called for the 4 a.m. ordinance to be changed.

In 2021, Reno-Weber's predecessor, state Rep. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, filed an ordinance that would move up the "last call" for alcohol sales in the city from 4 to 2 a.m. She then withdrew it in favor of another ordinance that funded new positions at Louisville Alcoholic Beverage Control and trainings for owners of late-night establishments.

Councilwoman Paula McCraney, the Democratic Caucus chair, and Councilman Anthony Piagentini, the Republican Caucus chair, both referenced the conversations Metro Council had about this issue two years ago.

"This is not a new issue. You know, we've dealt with this before," McCraney said. "I don't mind taking another look at this, but we really have to work together and understand that it's in the enforcement that's the problem."

Piagentini agreed.

"The problem is not bars opening and closing at 2 a.m. The problem is enforcing the law," he said. "When we looked at it more concretely, it was an issue with enforcement."

After the conversations about closing times a couple of years ago, there was a 21-page document created by Armstrong to serve as a guideline for bar and club owners, McCraney said.

"But if nobody is paying attention to the document, if nobody is enforcing what's already on the books, if the ABC office is short-staffed, then there are lots of problems," she said.

As a former server who could only go out with friends late in the evenings, Piagentini said he is hesitant about changing the times.

"We need to reject making societal changes because of individual criminality," he said.

Arthur said he would also like to see both the city and the community investing and engaging with already existing violence prevention programs, like ones through the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods. He worries that without involvement from the community, those programs might not continue to be funded.

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Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @ellie_mccrary.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville mass shooting: Council members consider bar time changes