Bars in this Georgia city may have to be closed on New Year’s Eve this year

AUGUSTA — If you’re making plans for New Year’s Eve, you may be hard-pressed to find a place to ring in the new year in Augusta.

By law, bars in Augusta can only be open on one Sunday a year, and this year, the city chose Super Bowl Sunday to stay open, WJBF-TV reports.

Bar owners said they were not part of the decision as to which Sunday they could remain open, and now could be missing out on one of the most profitable nights of the year, the TV station reported.

“It was never communicated to us, we were never asked, we never had the opportunity to voice our opinions and it’s very difficult,” Adrien Estrada, owner of the Loft Bar, told WJBF.

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Commissioners started working on the issue during this week’s meeting.

“(We’re) talking to state leaders to figure out ways that we can still serve our downtown business owners that weekend,” Commissioner Jordan Johnson said. “St. Patrick’s Day, people are coming to celebrate. New Year’s Eve, it’s a day of celebration. We’re destinations at that point. And if we’re trying to rebuild downtown and just the city of Augusta itself, we got to be diligent.”

While there’s no guarantee that they will be able to open, many of the bar owners WJBF spoke to said they are grateful that city leaders are working on a solution.

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