Jackson Free Press

Are you tired of having to go home at 2 a.m. when you were just starting to get a buzz at your favorite downtown bar? Before long, you'll be able to drink yourself dizzy into the wee hours of the morning—right in downtown Jackson. The question, though, is where?

On Tuesday, Nov. 2, the Jackson City Council voted 5-1 in favor of "resort status" for Farish Street and for Freelon's Bar and Groove on Mill Street with a 5-1 vote. When a district attains "resort status," the venues in the designated areas are allowed to serve alcohol past 2 a.m—24 hours a day actually. Right now under Mississippi state law, a restaurant or bar can serve alcohol from 10 a.m. until midnight; however, a local Jackson statute enables venues to serve until 2 a.m. citywide.

Ward 1 Councilman Ben Allen was the lone hold-out on the vote. "We got the order at 4 p.m. on Monday to vote on it the next day. There was no public briefing, and I felt the decision was rushed and could have been handled more judiciously," he said.

Allen said he supports giving the downtown area "resort status"; however, he doesn't feel this referendum was fair. " I think the resolution should have included the Commerce Street area, so Hal & Mal's, Martin's, W.C. Don's and the soon-to-come Mardi Gras Bar would benefit from it, too. Malcolm White [the owner of Hal & Mal's] didn't even know about the resolution. He has been supporting Jackson for years, but he wasn't even consulted."

Council President Leslie McLemore, of Ward 2, acknowledges the requests to look at the Commerce and George Street areas as well. "It has been exacted from the mayor that those areas would be looked at. We will proceed with that very soon. We may, in fact, extend the areas that have 'resort status' because we have come to realize that new places will be opening in those other areas very soon, too." He added, "We are not closing the door to any areas, but we will not blanket the entire downtown area with 'resort status' either, because it is unnecessary."

Allen insists that the Council should examine the plan carefully before it is finalized. The Farish Street district, from Amite Street to Hamilton Street, will soon include a daiquiri bar, a comedy club and a blues club. But Freelon's is a block away on Mill Street. Allen said: "By law, you can have an open container of alcohol in the streets in an area with 'resort status,' but if someone tries to walk to Freelon's after 2 a.m. with an open container, they can be arrested and taken to jail. Therefore, the corner between the Farish district and Freelon's should be covered, along with the Commerce Street area."

Hal & Mal's General Manager Charles Abraham hopes city council will give Commerce Street "resort status." Abraham said, "We are tickled to death that Farish Street got 'resort status,' but we would like to see all of downtown get it, too." He explained that the law of the land in Mississippi is prohibition and that liquor sales can ride on the independent decisions of a city or county.

"We have been here for about 20 years, and we have watched a lot of our business disappear to North Jackson and the County Line Road area. But we stuck it out because we believe in downtown, and we would like for Commerce Street to be included in the districts receiving 'resort status,' as well as George Street and the 930 Blues Cafe," he said.

Abraham said Hal & Mal's would utilize all the space they have to stay open after hours. "We would still do what we do now, but we would probably have a band in Soulshine and then at midnight turn the big room on the other side into a disco, a booty-dancing club or a blues thing. I really don't know because we haven't put that much thought into it, but we would definitely take advantage of it until 4 or 5 in the morning."

Previous Comments

ID

64307

Comment

Night Life in Jackson would change huge if all of downtown Jackson were open til 4 or 5 a.m. Talk about Club hopping. It would make sense with the convention center. It would turn all night lifers within driving distance to downtown once every other club closed.

Author

herman

Date

2004-11-16T02:05:50-06:00