Blanket booze biz ban from 3 am?

Photo: Mikk Mihkel Vaabel / Sakala

Bars blasting with partying – Friday nights straight through to Early hours of Mondays – have forced the town of Võru to seek ways of curbing night-time sale of alcohol.

During two weeks this past spring, Võru police got a whopping 41 calls to come to a partying spot in city centre. The constant noise, the fights, the carousing till eight in the morning... People living nearby were losing sleep.

As in recent months the amount of complaints to Võru City Government far exceeds those filed to police, the town needs to respond. The mayor Anti Allas has started to seek a solution, risking his very post – we hear the curbs-talk has angered entrepreneurs and opposition who, under the banner of business-freedom-restricted, threaten the mayor with expression of no confidence.  

«In the current situation the townsfolk are greatly troubled and in certain circles there are big business interests. They are giving their all to keep up the business at any cost,» notes Mr Allas. «Well the opposition would get mad at anything and I have not been called to step down, but this will come. Anything like this will be used in the political battles and I would not be surprised if they initiate no confidence; but I believe it will painfully backfire on those who file it.»

Like in any town, the Võru party spots are concentrated in city centre and the merrymaking is reluctant to end reasonably early. According to Mr Allas, an option they are considering is to ban sales of alcohol, partly or by districts, at 3 or 4 in the night – when the nightclubs close doors.

The roots of the problem go back to the times where night-time alcohol sale was prohibited in stores and gas stations. «After that, a new type of business has emerged: as the nightclubs shut their doors, the people who wish to keep on partying and are often quite drunk already will get their booze in some other establishment,» explains Mr Allas.

These other establishments – be they called a music bar or a sofa bar – are located in residential areas and are receiving the guests in the early hours when clubs are closed.

According to Mr Allas, the 1^st of July drinking act has not affected public order too much; rather, people are critical as one more option has been provided to boastfully and demonstratively drink. Alas, the new law has granted recreational establishments the chance to personally set open and close times.

Earlier, this used to be under town government competency. Now, any establishment may decide they are open till 6.30 am, for instance – as has indeed happened. But even then the parties fail to wind down. Rather, the small town has arrived at a situation when the party commences Friday night and lasts till Monday morning draws nigh. Therefore, the town is contemplating a blanket ban. 

The mayor wishes these establishments would move away from residential areas and give their best to cause minimal night-time trouble. «Regrettably, there is yelling, fighting and noise that keep awaking people at four or five in the night. That’s not normal!» says Mr Allas.

Advised to find a new place, the entrepreneurs understandably retort: once the city-centre licence was provided, they have made their investment – who will pay the costs of moving? Nevertheless, a partying zone in the town has been closed down as complaints by residents came in like a flood, the owner refused to renew the rental contract, and the issue was solved. But that does not help, as the party spots just get moved to other places.

At the moment, the jurists in city government are seeking to find out if and how it would be possible to totally or partly curb the early-morning sale of alcohol, or to ban it altogether.