Last Call: 2:55AM Monday – Sat. That’s the “last call” as it stands right now in Marietta. If Mayor Bill Dunaway had his way, this would be changed. Mayor Dunaway has said, “Drink all you want to until 2 a.m.,” as he told the Marietta City council during a recent committee meeting, adding, “I don’t think any Marietta resident would be hurt moving up the closing hour.”
The MDJ continues to report:
“Let them go to Atlanta or let them go to Dekalb County,” Dunaway said.
Councilman Philip Goldstein objected to Dunaway’s proposal.
“As with the Q Club, if there’s a problem it’s addressed through other means. The Q Club was closed because they violated city ordinance. When you have someone violating the ordinances you address the problem through that method,” Goldstein said.
Goldstein said there are a number of alcohol-serving businesses open until 2:55 a.m. that are “perfectly law abiding” establishments.“And what you do is you penalize everybody that’s doing the right thing and providing a business service – whether you agree with it or not – in a very legitimate manner, and you penalize them because of someone who is not following the law, and you have a way to close them down and you close them down where appropriate. From talking to the police department, they didn’t have a problem with the closing hours. It’s no problem for them, as I understand it,” Goldstein said.
In response, Dunaway said it took the city nearly a year to close down Salon Q.
“The point here is to keep something like that from opening. Most towns have earlier closing times,” Dunaway said.
Councilman Jim King sided with Goldstein.
“If they’re violating the city ordinance already – the noise, the people out in the parking lot that shouldn’t be there, the loitering, etc., it’s not relevant whether it’s two or three in the morning. It’s violating city ordinance period,” King said.
Great points from all sides.. what is your opinion?
