Bars don't get 2 a.m. closing time

MARBLE FALLS, Texas (KXAN) - A battle brewing between bar owners in Marble Falls and the City over extending alcohol sales until 2 a.m. ended Monday night after City Council members voted 4-3 against the idea.

Area bar owners and bartenders were on tap at the City Council meeting and said they felt defeated following the vote.

Early Monday morning, many bar owners told KXAN  that getting their hours extended was not about winning a battle against local government, that it was about livelihood and keeping their doors open.

They had hoped their presence would  prompt council to let them sell liquor until 2 a.m, helping them make ends meet.

"We're not trying to get people to booze more," explained Josh Simpson, a bartender at Main Street Icehouse & Cafe in downtown Marble Falls.  "As tough as this job market has been, I need those extra two hours of work."

"We are businesses here on this street and we're hurting," said Debbie Lynn, manager of R Bar & Grill .

That street is Main Street .

A street now riddled with empty store fronts that show bar owners a ghost town could be the future.

"Some people who live here don't even come to Main Street," Lynn added.

Having two more hours to serve up cocktails is something Lynn felt could've changed that.

"If you can stay open later, than people will hang out here," Lynn said.  "Right now, at midnight, they're leaving and going to bars four miles up the road."

"We're trying to create the entertainment district within our Main Street," Simpson said.

Bars went into the meeting knowing they didn't have everyone's backing and knew local resident would serve up strong opposition.

"I don't think it is a good idea to have anbody, who I guess is drunk person, on the streets in the early morning hours," said Sandra Gonzales, an area churchgoer and resident who opposes later liquor sales.

A few council members said before they voted that they were not keen on later closing times and reasoned that it would cost the city money-as police patrols would have needed to be upped due to a heightened risk of crime.

Members, however, acknowledged the council was split on this issue going into the meeting.