Daytona Beach bar owners sour on idea to stop service an hour earlier

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The mayor of Daytona Beach wants the city to consider having its bars close at 2 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.

He said it will help cut down on crime and put the city in line with everyone else in Volusia County.

But the idea is going down with bar owners as well as a pint of warm beer.

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Grovette Harris and her husband put in a lot of money and work into fixing up the Speedway Bar on East International Speedway Boulevard.

They’ve had their ups and downs since opening in September, and could take another hit if the city decides to close its bars one hour earlier.

“It’s a good, busy hour,” Harris said. “If we shut down, we’d lose a good bit of business.”

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Many bar owners said they believe the move would only hurt business.

Daytona Beach Mayor Derrick Henry said the extra hour brings other people into the city who want to keep drinking, and can lead to an uptick in crime.

“There is no doubt the most violent crime in the wee hours of the morning,” Henry said.

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In the city’s three major bar districts, Seabreeze, Main Street and East ISB, there were 38 crimes committed within 1000 feet of Main Street over a six-month span, 91 by Seabreeze and 24 around East ISB. Most of these were related to vandalism, drugs and disturbance calls.

The mayor wants staff to come back with a proposal at a later date.

Cox Media Group