Go home early: 10 p.m. alcohol sale deadline starts tonight

SANDUSKY — Ohio's new order limiting alcohol sales after 10 p.m. is going to hurt some people. "It sucks," said Sandusky native Alex Gingery, who bartends on weekends at local establishments. Gingery said that some bars' peak hours are 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., and that's when bartenders like him make the majority of their money. "So, I'm missing out on $800 a week with this new order," he said. Gov. Mike DeWine first mentioned the alcohol order on Thursday, when he asked the state liquor control commission to approve — which it unanimously green-lit Friday morning — and the order is expected to go into effect Friday night. DeWine said that while most bars are following COVID-19 safety guidelines, others aren't, and the nature of bars brings people close together. He said the order limiting when alcohol can be sold is an alternative to another shutdown order. What the rules are Under the order, the following will happen: • Establishments that sell liquor must stop sales at 10 p.m. each night. • Customers who purchased alcohol before 10 p.m. have until 11 p.m. to finishing drinking it. • Customers getting carryout orders are allowed three alcoholic drinks per order. Previously, only two drinks were allowed. Bar reactions Nikki Lloyd, owner of the Moseley's Rooftop Bar & OH Taco at Hotel Kilbourne in Sandusky, said she's going to try and adjust and follow the new order. "It is what is it is. There's not a lot we can do to change any of it," Lloyd said. "We're just going to make some adjustments and roll with the punches." For an establishment's management, the effects of less business can be drastic. "If a restaurant has a bad month, it's a scary thing," she said. "It puts everything on the line." Gingery is also a bar manager at the Sidelines Sports Eatery and Pub in Norwalk. He said that, given the circumstances, Sidelines hasn't been too severely impacted since the pandemic started. "We actually stayed open through the shutdown only doing carryout," he said. "We were one of only places open. We haven't been doing terribly as bad. We're trying to stay optimistic." Lloyd said she expects bars and restaurants will adjust their hours to offset the effects of the order. "I'm just happy that I can open my doors," she said. Reader responses Some readers commented on a Register story posted online with their thoughts on the new rule. One woman thought small businesses were being unfairly targeted. "If the big box stores are OK why not the small businesses... (COVID-19) does not discriminate," Shelly Walker wrote. "If we wanted to be serious about this then ALL businesses should have been closed and pick up service only." Others thought the 10 p.m. cut-off for alcohol sales is arbitrary. "So closing a bar at 10 p.m. is going to do what?" Ralph Trizna asked. "Is (COVID-19) more contagious after dark?" Some others asked the community to follow along with Ohio's new order. "Drink your beer at home," Darlene Bennett Janka wrote. "Not much of a price to pay to save a life. People are dying from this. It is real."