JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – Large crowds at night inside Jacksonville Beach restaurants could soon be a thing of the past after the Jacksonville Beach City Council gave its first approval to a new rule this week.
Right now, many restaurants stop serving full meals early in the evening in order to move tables and make room for late-night bar crowds. But the City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would require restaurants to keep tables and chairs in place at night.
But not all patrons agree.
"In my opinion, I feel they should move the tables and chairs. When it gets too late, people crowd around the bar and people are going to be pushing through each other to get to the bar. I think they should move the chairs if they'd like," said Autumn Alexander, a patron at The Pier.
The new rules would require all restaurants that receive at least 51 percent of their gross revenue from the sale of food and non-alcoholic beverages and have a capacity for 150 customers to serve full-course meals until 30 minutes before closing.
According to the ordinance, the reason for the change would be to protect the health and safety of the residents in Jacksonville Beach.
The city said it receives a number of complaints related to alcohol, including disturbing the peace and sale of alcohol to underage persons, which have led to fights, DUIs and the use of controlled substances.
The ordinance said it's getting expensive for police to handle the costs of responding to calls, especially after midnight. The city said it thinks keeping the kitchens open longer will help solve the problem.
But some people feel the proposed rule wouldn't fix the issues.
"I think people are going to drink as long as they want to. I don't think this is going to change that," Alexander said.
If a restaurant is caught breaking the rules, the restaurant could get a violation and potentially lose its alcohol license temporarily.
In 2011, the city revised an ordinance, requiring alcoholic beverage establishments that desired to serve alcohol after midnight to obtain an extended hours of operation permit. And the latest amendment is helping to further clarify the ordinance.
The City Council approved the first reading of the new ordinance this week. But the ordinance must go through a second reading before approval.