December 2, 2003
Albany- On a Tuesday night, some of Crystal Pendleton's tables at Boxers Bar & Grill are empty.
She'll make up for it later in the week.
"Our biggest nights are Thursday nights because we have kareoke. It's always our biggest night," said Pendleton.
That could change if city leaders decide to make bars close earlier to help fight late night crime. But it would hit Crystal in her tip jar.
"I wouldn't make near as much money because at the end is when you make the most money because everybody's been drinking."
Some bar managers say there may be a compromise. They could make up for lost business if they were allowed to serve until 2 a.m. on Saturday nights.
"It's just like this Saturday night," said Barry Kerper, general manager at Boxers Bar & Grill. "I had a 150 people in here at 12 o'clock and we had to quit serving."
So letting them have two more hours of profit on Saturdays would help. And sending people home earlier on other nights may make the streets safer.
"Once you get pass one or two o'clock in the morning, those are generally your die hards that are going to be out there driving," Kerper said. "I just as soon shut down anyway."
Whatever closing time is, Crystal hopes people keep coming in. So she can keeping earning her pay. City leaders want bar owners and the public to give their opinions about operating hours at the next meeting on December 16th.
posted at 11 p.m. by brannon.stewart@walb.com
All content © Copyright 2000 - 2013 Worldnow and WALB, a Raycom Media Station. 
