Less than 10 people spoke at a Canton City Council public hearing last week about a proposal to extend the hours for last call in the city.
City officials are mulling extending alcohol pouring hours until 2 a.m. Currently, businesses can pour until midnight.
Eight people spoke at the March 4 public hearing at the special called city council meeting—the majority of the people who spoke were in favor of extending the hours.
Zach Kell, owner of the downtown Canton restaurants Downtown Kitchen and Goin’ Coastal, said extended hours would allow his business to compete with surrounding jurisdictions with later pouring hours. Kell said he’s operated restaurants in downtown Canton for six years, and his family has invested a quarter-million dollars in the area. He also said he’s paid an estimated $650,000 in taxes in the last six years—between both restaurants.
“From an operations end, you don’t pour until 12 o’clock. You have to start that process at 11:30 p.m.,” he said. “The playing field that we have set in place, as a restaurant owner, that’s not a fair playing field. We’re asking the council for a little bit of help now. It’s gotta be progressively pro-business, or more restaurants will not come.”
Canton resident and a council meeting regular, Thomas Weaver, spoke in favor of the extended pouring hours.
“Let’s put competition back on tap for our local businesses,” he said.
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Gerry Yandel | Ledger-News
Jeff Merbach, owner of Fabiano’s pizzeria in downtown Canton, spoke in favor of extending alcohol pouring hours March 4, saying people go to other cities to watch late sporting events.
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Jeff Merbach, owner of the downtown pizzeria Fabiano’s, said his business is affected by the midnight end time when sporting events are played on the West Coast. He said, when the Braves play the Dodgers or there’s a late Monday night football game, people won’t come to his restaurant to watch the games because they know they’ll be kicked out before the game is over. He said the extended hours would help bring those people to his business.
“They’re going to go to Woodstock to eat that pizza and drink that one pitcher of beer—so they can watch the end of the game,” Merbach said of the current Canton ordinance.
Tony Baker, owner of Cherokee Lanes, said his business misses out on the late-night crowds, who don’t go out until 9 p.m., because they want somewhere to go that would stay open later and serve alcohol later.
“They’re going to Cumming, they’re going to Woodstock to bowl,” he said. “I’m losing that crowd, and it’s a lot of revenue.”
Bill Grant, who chairs the city’s Main Street program board of directors and owns the downtown business Grant Collaborative Design, said he’s also in favor of the extended hours.
“I have an interest in the future of Canton, especially the downtown district,” he said. “I think the business owners who have invested their time, money and resources in coming to Canton deserve a fair playing field. I don’t think this is an issue of morality. We want to recruit more high quality dining establishments …. We’re only talking about two hours.”
Canton resident and another city council meeting regular, Andy Alexander, said he opposes the extended hours.
“We don’t need to base making more money on alcohol,” he said, adding that he feels longer hours to drink in the city would result in more liability on the roads.
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Gerry Yandel | Ledger-News
After hearing others speak about the proposed extension of Canton’s alcohol pouring hours at the Canton City Council meeting March 4, Mark Walker, pictured at the podium on the left, spoke against the ordinance change. Pictured, from left in the background, are City Clerk Diana Threewitt, Ward III Councilwoman Amelia Rose, Ward II Councilman Bob Rush, Ward I Councilman Jack Goodwin, City Manager Scott Wood, Mayor Gene Hobgood and Ward II Councilman John Beresford.
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Resident Amy Turcotte said she personally wasn’t in favor of the extended hours, but the city council needed to make the decision for the people who elected them.
“Do what is best for the town of Canton,” she said.
Mark Walker, who also spoke at the public hearing, said the current ordinance doesn’t allow for bars and, “from what I’m hearing, these people are seeking to operate bars from 12 to 2. I don’t think we allow that, and I don’t think we should allow that.”
Because the alcohol by the drink rules were approved by the voters, Ward II Councilman Bill Bryan said he wanted to put the extended hours vote on a ballot.
“My position on this issue is based on respect for the taxpayers—we, the people,” he said. “We, the people, brought alcohol sales into Canton by vote. We, the people, should have the right to approve or disapprove any modifications to the deal that we, the people, made with the city – by vote. Anything short of that would be disrespectful to the residents of the city of Canton.”
Ward I Councilman Bob Rush, who introduced the pouring hours extension, said he “strongly opposed” the referendum.
“We can’t run to the populace every time there’s a contentious decision,” he said. “That’s what we’re here for. If we have any respect for the people’s judgment, and we can make a good judgment for their sake, I think we should make it.”
The city council had the first reading of the ordinance at the March 4 meeting and is expected to vote on the second reading at the March 23 meeting, which was rescheduled from March 18. The meeting is at 6 p.m. at city hall, 151 Elizabeth St. For information, call (770) 704-1500.
