Some downtown Denver bar and nightclub owners have bristled at Mayor Hickenlooper’s recent suggestion that the establishments stagger their closing times in an effort to prevent all of the neighborhood’s imbibers from pouring into the streets at 2 a.m – the latest permissible hour to pour a drink in a Colorado bar.
Bar owners argue that earlier closing times could cut into their already thin profit margins, according to The Denver Post.
Staggering the closing times of LoDo bars isn’t a new idea, but it was resurrected this week after Sunday’s early morning shootout that left one man dead.
Pete Meersman, president of the Colorado Restaurant Association, said some bar owners may agree to stagger closing times in order to keep the peace and their customers.
“Generally I think there is [the will to do that] because they know if their particular part of the city either becomes dangerous or people have the perception that it is dangerous, they’re going to lose business,” Meersman said.
Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper has said he’d like to see LoDo bars voluntarily adopt staggered closing schedules.
Liquor laws are governed by state statute and could not be altered by the city, Meersman added.