CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Nightlife in Corpus Christi ends at two o’clock in the morning, but for some, the night doesn’t end there. Now, the City of Corpus Christi is proposing a time when all bar and clubs should close their doors.
The proposed ordinance reads, “No bar, lounge, tavern, club, or private club shall be open to the public earlier than 7am or later than 2:15 am.”
CCPD Deputy Chief Hollis Bowers said this comes after a year of multiple reports of violence at or around bars and clubs.
“They stop serving alcohol legally at two o’clock, but then they serve food and stay open until four, and that’s when we were having our biggest problems. We had fights and shootings, and officer-involved shootings,” Bowers said.
Bowers presented the proposed ordinance to local bar and club owners at a meeting held at the Corpus Christi Police Academy on Thursday afternoon.
“One of the bar owners was concerned that we’re telling them what to do and other cities allow it until 4 in the morning and it’s a valid concern because they’re trying to run a business and do it the best way they can to make money, but they also have a vested interest to keep everyone safe,” Bowers said.
Those at the meeting were also interested in learning about changes made by CCPD.
“Basically, what we’re doing is relaxing the standard back to what they used to be, where officers can work the clubs for security reasons,” Bowers said.
Safety and security of top priority for everyone.
“We didn’t get a lot of pushbacks. We didn’t expect that,” Bowers said. “We stay in touch with our bar owners because that’s part of what we do.”
Feedback from bar and club owners at this meeting will go to City Council before they vote on the proposed ordinance.
