MACON, Ga. — A Macon bar will now be forced to close indefinitely after repeated violations of the governor’s COVID-19 executive orders.
According to Larry Harris Jr., a co-owner of Overtyme Bar and Grill on Pio Nono Avenue, Bibb Sheriff David Davis told him the bar will be forced to shut down for the remainder of the public health emergency.
Davis told 13WMAZ that deputies will hang a sign on the establishment’s front door at 7:30 p.m. that says they are forced to close.
He also said he's giving the bar options to possibly reopen in the future if they provide a work plan; ensuring that they will keep patrons safe and abide by the Governor’s order.
-----
On Tuesday, Harris told WMAZ his bar had gone eight years without being cited until the last 70 days when it was cited six times – four of which were for violating the governor's executive order which includes requiring bars to operate at 35% capacity.
The Bibb County Sheriff's Office confirmed that, saying Overtyme violated the governor's executive order four times by being over capacity. Col. Henderson Carswell says under the order, Overtyme can have no more than 102 people inside.
Harris maintains he was not overcapacity in each of the four times he was cited. In two of the cases, deputies forced him to close for the night, with the most recent time being on March 6.
Governor Brian Kemp's and Mayor Lester Miller's executive orders say the sheriff's office is authorized to shut down establishments for the duration of the public health emergency after two citations.
Gov. Kemp's latest extension of the public health emergency is set to expire on April 6, unless it is extended once again.
Davis says this decision to close the establishment was unrelated to the underage drinking citations.
Overtyme was also one of the seven bars cited by the Georgia Department of Revenue for allegedly serving people under the age of 21.
RELATED HEADLINES