Mike McNeely doesn't plan on keeping his Lansing bar open any later, despite a new law that allows Michigan bars to stay open after 2 a.m.
"What would be the reason to stay open?" said McNeely, a co-owner of Trippers, 354 Frandor Ave. "After 12:30, you get people wandering bar to bar and you just inherit other bars' drunks.
"I don't think we'd be too keen on staying open."
The law was passed in December allowing bars in Michigan to apply for a permit to extend business hours for entertainment, music and dancing without serving alcohol past 2 a.m., excluding strip clubs and gambling establishments.
Michigan state law previously let establishments stay open after 2 a.m. to serve food with a permit.
Many bar owners in East Lansing and Lansing don't plan to apply for the permit because they would lose money by staying open.
"We aren't (going to stay open) because it's just too much of a hassle after 2 o'clock," said Daniel Vargas, assistant manager of The Post bar, 213 Ann St. "We can't serve alcohol, so there's no real reason to be open after that.
"It's a loss in money."
Karl Millisor, a no-preference junior, said he'd stay out later if establishments extended their hours.
Keeping bars open might stop people from driving drunk, kinesiology freshman Kelly Mattran said.
"It's almost a question of what are you going to do now (that the bars have closed) — go home?" Mattran said.
Establishments around the state have shown an interest in the permits, Liquor Control Commission director of executive services Ken Wozniak said.
Wozniak estimates about one in four bars in the state will apply for the permit. However, the establishment also has to be approved by the local municipality and the Liquor Control Commission before the permit is granted.
Wozniak expects it will be at least two months before any bars will actually have the permit.
Only four bars in the state have applied for the permit, said Linda Wood, secretary to the director of licensing at the Liquor Control Commission. None of them are in the Lansing area.
"We didn't go into this thinking that this was going to be something that every (liquor) licensee was going to take advantage of," said Michigan Restaurant Association director of public affairs Andy Deloney. "It could be too much cost, too much overhead, the staff you have to have, you're keeping your kitchen open later, you're keeping the lights on, the heat on, and a lot of places will have increased insurance liability."
The new law was sparked by Gregg Gilmore, owner of the B.O.B., a nightclub in Grand Rapids. Gilmore wanted to make a safer atmosphere for his guests so they would be sober when driving, said Carey McMahon, food and beverage manager at the B.O.B. Gilmore worked with the Kent County chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and State Rep. Jerry Kooiman, R-Grand Rapids, to pass the legislation.
"I don't expect to make a whole lot of money, in fact it costs us money to keep staff here, but the reality is that it's a safer environment (if we stay open)," McMahon said. "From the guest perspective, we already had a license to stay open 'til 4, since we opened, but you're not allowed to dance or play pool, so you're not allowed to have any fun."
Rep. Kooiman said the bill isn't intended for every bar, but stressed it'd be good for certain areas.
"I think (the law) will be good for downtown entertainment districts in particular, the areas where there are large numbers of young adults who like to stay out late at night," Kooiman said.
