Closing the Painted Lady Lounge at 11 p.m. may have been fun for a couple of weeks, but Hamtramck bartender Andrea Bonaventura is ready to close at 2 a.m.
“It was nice to get home early and my girlfriend was happier,” she said, “but it definitely hurt my pockets.”
On Tuesday, for the first time in six months, bars and restaurants no longer have a curfew as part of government-mandated COVID security restrictions. Bars like Painted Lady – a neighborhood hangout with a large selection of whiskeys but no menu or permanent terrace – had fewer revenue options due to the way pandemic-related restrictions were structured.
“My bar has always been rather late at night, so the curfew was frustrating for us,” said Bonaventura, a bartender for more than a decade. “A lot of my friends and our customers don’t leave the house until 10 or 11 pm, so we miss a lot of money.”
Drinking and eating indoors ceased for the second time in November 2020. When indoor bar and restaurant entertainment was resumed on February 1, there were restrictions that included a 10 p.m. curfew. This was later only extended to 11 p.m. for an hour
Closing early had little impact on restaurants that specialize in breakfast, lunch and dinner. However, it has been a huge drag on bars and nightlife spots that don’t focus on food and get a large chunk of their income from selling drinks, especially after 9pm. 2 a.m
The sports bars in particular had a hard time with the curfew. Many West Coast games have a later start time, which means that Detroit sports fans haven’t had time to watch in a bar.
“We used to find that if you were only open until 11pm and everyone else on the premises other than work was outside by 11pm,” said Pat Osman, manager of Nemo’s Bar in Corktown. “And you have something that starts at 10pm in Seattle. You can only see part of the game inside. You have to see the rest of the game outside when you’re outside. It makes it difficult, but it all worked out.”
He says returning to normal will be a long road for places like the historic sports pub, but “we’re moving in the right direction”.
“Anything that gives us more access to customers we haven’t seen in a long time and new customers is good,” said Osman. “Everything will help the economy somehow.”
Of course, not all companies immediately extend their opening hours to 2 a.m. Diners that were open around the clock can go through a phase in later hours as they determine the staffing requirements for the dine-in traffic.
The ability to serve customers after a 15 year old’s bedtime is still good, especially for people working late or looking for a cocktail after that cocktail.
The lavish Candy Bar at the Siren Hotel is a popular, but very small, cocktail lounge. Owner Kate Williams, who is also the owner / cook of Karl’s restaurant on the second floor, says she is “definitely” looking forward to the 11pm lifting of the curfew.
“Usually the candy bar is open until 2am, so we’re slowly returning to normal opening times,” she said. “As a no-food bar, people can come downtown and have a drink either before dinner or after dinner, and 11pm (curfew) was a bit restrictive. We’ll certainly take advantage of the bar not being nearby 23 o’clock ”
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