Just a couple of weeks ago, Governor Dewine changed the curfew from 10 to 11 at night and now has lifted it all together. Bars and restaurants in the area are excited to see the "old normal" coming back into their lives.
Mulligans in Lima is more than thrilled to be able to keep their doors open late into the night. What they say they missed most, though, was seeing some of their regulars come into the bar to relax after a hard day's work.
Christine Franklin, the owner of Mulligans says, “Seeing the people that we couldn't see when we had the curfew--our restaurant workers, our service workers--that would come in after they got off of work just to unwind. I miss them, so we’re super excited about being able to see them again.”
Instead of having to close and have everyone out by 11 P.M., they can sell alcohol all the way up until 2 A.M. again and will close at 2:30 A.M.
Restaurants that aren’t really known for their nightlife are also excited to get a taste of normalcy back, even if it won't affect their hours too much. Rob Nelson at The MET says people seem to feel safer and happier coming out.
“I think the lifting of the curfew really affects our staff because people are happy, and I see it in the smiles of people that are going out,” says Nelson.
The MET will extend their hours with the lifted curfew, but their kitchen will close at 10 and the bar at 11 at night. The lifted curfew also comes just in time for Valentine's Day weekend, maybe giving couples some extra time at their romantic night out.
Nelson says, “It will allow them to extend the night just a little bit here, I don’t know if they’re going to extend it late but they will extend it here we hope and it might allow us over time to open up the bar a little bit later.”
Every restaurant and bar around Lima seems to have a different plan of action to deal with the lifted curfew, so be sure to check out hours of operation before planning your night out.
