Santa Cruz City Council decided on Tuesday to hike the fees on some restaurants serving alcohol, depending on how much alcohol they sell and how late the restaurant is open.
Friends heading downtown for a pint of Guinness may soon find it’s more expensive than they remember. In an effort to cut down on violence, the SCPD wants d to add more officers to patrol downtown, especially on weekends. But this costs money, so City Council decided on Tuesday to hike the fees on restaurants serving alcohol, depending on how much alcohol they sell and how late the restaurant is open. The impact will be felt mainly on weekends, when many restaurants turn themselves into after-hours dance clubs. City officials say that the funds raised by the fee hikes should be enough to add an extra officer to patrol downtown.
Though this is the first time in 10 years that the city has raised its alcohol fees, many local restaurant owners are very unhappy about the decision. Lou Caviglia, owner of Clouds Downtown, said that the only reason restaurants are expanding their hours in the first place is to make up for the loss of business due to the recession. “If Santa Cruz can’t afford another police officer, why do they think we have the money?” he asked.
In the end, however, it is not the local restaurants that will bear the brunt of the cost, but the customers who use them. With City Council’s decision it seems more than likely that the price of a pint will be going up. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
