With city leaders considering how to restructure Statesboro’s often scrutinized and lambasted alcohol ordinance, local business owners are currently pinpointing aspects of the law they would like to see changed.
      Restaurant and bar owners, who are required to comply with an ordinance they say is confusing, convoluted and contradictory in its language, are identifying controversial elements of the law in preparation for a work session with City Council next week to reform the legislation.
      Members of council decided in an August 2 work session — scheduled in response to complaints about alcohol restrictions – to begin the process of altering the current ordinance.
      Tuesday, members of council will welcome the local restaurateurs to City Hall to discuss wording and rules the owners believe need to be removed or amended. 
      “The ordinance is overreaching, inefficient and only partially enforceable,” said Brian Kelly, owner of Kbob Kelley’s, to council during last week’s session. “The current ordinance is riddled with inconsistencies, and needs to be clearer on enforcement. I think a lot of us in town think it is egregiously unfair and we’d like to see some changes.”
      In response to his comments, Council tasked Kelly with speaking to other local owners to form a list of specific complaints to present during the upcoming meeting.
      According to Kelly, owners he has spoken with share the sentiment that a new ordinance is needed, and cite similar reasons why.
      “I truly feel that the current ordinance prevents business people in town from operating their businesses as profitably and as well as they should be,” he said. “I have spoken with many other owners and everyone is similarly stating that the state laws are sufficient and that the current city ordinance is far too overreaching.”
      A gripe echoed by virtually all of the owners, said Kelly, is the lack of freedom to serve discounted drinks.
      City rules prohibit establishments from selling alcohol at discounted prices at any time other than happy hour – Statesboro allows drink prices be lowered as much as half between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
      The Georgia state law pertaining to alcohol contains no such pricing restrictions, he said.
      “The pricing issues, as they stand, are a big concern,” said Kelly. “We are all individual businesses, and short of selling below wholesale prices, feel that we or the market, should be able to determine profit margin on our own products.”
      “I think our state legislators have done a more than adequate job of controlling alcohol consumption on the state level.  The consolidated voice of the bar community, from what I can tell, is that people want the new ordinance to as closely mimic the state ordinance as possible,” he said. “Everyone in town would like to run their businesses to the best of their ability and have the government stay out of where it isn’t needed.”
      Other concerns of owners relate the length of happy hour and the quantity of drinks that may be sold. Per the current ordinance, no more than two drinks may be purchased by one person at a time, and a single pitcher of an alcoholic drink may not be served to a lone individual.
      According to Kelly, several owners are expected to attend Tuesday’s work session, which will immediately follow a scheduled Council meeting at 6 p.m. in the council chambers.
      Council’s decision to reevaluate the city’s alcohol law was spurred by an influx of complaints as local law officials stepped up enforcement of the ordinance.
      Five establishments were recently cited in violation of the law during a compliance check conducted by the Statesboro Police Department.
      Prior to the check, and again after, police officials issued letters to alcohol dispensing businesses clarifying the regulations outlined in the current ordinance.

Jeff Harrison can be reached at (912) 489-9454.