‘It’s a disappointment.’ Bar and restaurant employees react to Charlotte’s midnight curfew

Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts announced a midnight curfew Thursday night, and said that it would last until the end of the State of Emergency is declared for Charlotte.

How would this midnight curfew affect businesses, especially restaurants and bars that stay open as late as 2 a.m.? I made the short walk over to the Plaza Midwood neighborhood to gauge the reaction from a few of the many local business affected.

My first stop was Moo and Brew. David Delac, an assistant general manager, wasn’t happy.

“It’s a disappointment,” he said. “It’s a loss of revenue for us and wages for our employees”

Then I sat with a group of men eating lunch at Five Guys.  Neil from Charlotte had this opinion: “It’s totally wrong,” he said of the curfew. (The men didn’t want to give their last names.)

Next to him, Jason, also from Charlotte, had a differing opinion.  “Keep your (butt) in the house!” he said.

Then I walked over to Peculiar Rabbit, a popular weekend spot with a great rooftop deck.

Marie from Charlotte, who declined to give her last name, was tending bar when I walked in.

“It hurts financially,”  she said. “Both to me and the restaurant.”

Chef Chad McMullen told me he has already called three employees to say they don’t need to come in tonight.

“It hurts everyone,” he said. “Cooks, servers, bartenders, everyone.”

I ran into Scott Griffin at Fuel Pizza. He plays guitar in a punk rock band called Head Jack.

“We already had our gig cancelled,” he said. “Hopefully, this will be a short term nuisance.”

Photos: Jonathan Lee

This story was originally published September 23, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "‘It’s a disappointment.’ Bar and restaurant employees react to Charlotte’s midnight curfew."