Another Augusta restaurant seeks later hours through alcohol ordinance change (Gordon: sales, 2015)

[Airforceguy]

Mary Elizabeth Pennington said Slicerz enjoyed an early-morning crowd of late-shift employees from John Deere, Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart and area restaurants at its 1501 North Leg Road location.
That was until last year when the commission closed a loophole in the city’s alcohol ordinance requiring all restaurants that serve alcohol to close at the same time that bars do – 3 a.m. Tues*day through Saturday and 2:30 a.m. Sun*day.
“We want the business hours to be extended, not to serve alcohol,” said Pennington, an occupational therapist and the operations manager for Slicerz. “We want to stay open for our late-night restaurant business, to provide a safe, fun environment for people to come to unwind.”

Another Augusta restaurant seeks later hours through alcohol ordinance change | The Augusta Chronicle

[Worren]

What's wrong with letting them stay open later? More tax revenue for the county and more things for local folks to do after work. Same with Sunday. Many areas of the country allow alcohol sales on Sunday without major problems. Again, more tax revenues coming in.

[RoryRezzelle]

They don't want to serve alcohol late, they just want to stay open to serve food. The problem is that the county doesn't see "restaurants that serves alcohol" any different than a bar in regards to how late they can stay open though. There's plenty of restaurants that stay open late to serve food (fast food and otherwise). The county needs to understand the difference between a restaurant that serves alcohol as the main part of their business, and a restaurant that doesn't rely on alcohol sales to make their budget.

[Pu239]

Funny how they enjoyed a late night crowd last year.... they just opened... something is out of kilter here....

Maybe no one told them of the multiple late night shootings in the parking lot?

[Airforceguy]

Well it looks like the commissioners approved the change....

Under pressure from two restaurants – Alter Ego’z on Gordon Highway and Slicerz on North Leg Road, both of which said their business models depend on late-night dining – commissioners authorized the change.
Early-morning hours are “a good time to help keep drivers off the streets,” while the commission is “trying to help the businesses,” commission member Grady Smith said after making a motion to approve the change.
The motion passed 8-2 with Commissioners Sean Frantom and Wayne Guilfoyle opposed. Both cited the lack of support from the Richmond County sheriff for their decision.

Augusta Commission OKs restaurant hours change | The Augusta Chronicle