Judge grants temporary suspension of Athens’ 10 p.m. 'last call’

Western Circuit Superior Court Judge Eric Norris granted a temporary restraining order Friday which stops enforcement for an Athens-Clarke County ordinance changing the “last call” for alcohol sales.

The Athens-Clarke Commission passed an update to the ordinance Thursday making “last call” for alcohol at 10 p.m.

Legal debates on the issues will return to the court for an Aug. 6 hearing before Norris, according to Athens Attorney Mo Wiltshire, who filed for the restraining order in a lawsuit against the mayor and commission Thursday night.

The commission passed the ordinance as a way to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Wiltshire represents a group of downtown Athens bar owners, who opposed the measure that would directly affect their businesses.

A key component of the suit is that it violates pandemic measures set in place by Gov. Brian Kemp.

“We’re seeking to stop the county from usurping the governor’s orders,” Wiltshire said Friday.

“We’re all being encouraged to play by the rules. The governor sets those rules and the mayor and commission have encouraged us to play by the rules, but they don’t want to do that themselves. They want to pass their own rules, which they don’t have the authority to do,” Wiltshire said.

Under the previous ordinance, bars had a last call at 2 a.m. Monday through Friday and 1:55 a.m. Saturday.

Among those bars listed as plaintiffs against the commission and Police Chief Cleveland Spruill are On The Rocks, Moonshine Bar, Cloud, Infusia, Centro Athens and Buddha Bar.

The suit contends that because the new ordinance requires persons to wear face masks when entering an establishment that it is more restrictive than Gov. Brian Kemp’s order which does not mandate wearing masks.

The suit says the defendants have acted in “flagrant disregard” of the governor’s orders.

Wiltshire said the new ordinance changing alcohol sales will “gut the industry” and affect not only the owners but their employees.

Mayor Kelly Girtz at the Thursday meeting noted the change has been the subject of public scrutiny.

“The lawsuit is not surprising,” Girtz responded to the legal action. “However, all states throughout the Southeast have either changed serving hours, or closed bars completely, so this is common terrain in this challenging time.”

The measure was passed by an 8-1 vote with District 3 Commissioner Link expressing an opinion about a need for the measure.

“The science is crystal clear that bars are super-spreader environments, primarily because people do gather closely face to face and their inhibitions are down,” Link said. “Alcohol doesn’t give you COVID, but it leads to behavior that can give you COVID.”