In the past year the Gulf Shores City Council has addressed the subject of closing time for various bars. The results have varied for different locations. One outlet received a temporary license to operate until 3AM, while others have been told to shut down at 2AM.

As the spring break and summer seasons are fast approaching will the one extra hour make a difference? Gulf Shores Deputy Police Chief believes so. He has provided the City Council with detailed transactions the Police Department must face during the late hours.

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A bar under scrutiny for late-night incidents, Cohiba Dunes, pledged to add a food option and was given a conditional business license for 2024. The bar was under a conditional license for 2023 and Deputy Police Chief Dan Netemeyer said despite the conditions placed on the bar in the past year, there were still violations. One of the conditions he recommended – closing and clearing the property by 2 a.m. – was removed from the new conditional license and the bar is allowed to remain open until 3 a.m.

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During a City Council meeting one of the Cohiba Dunes owners stated “As of right now we have no business until that one to three o’clock,”  Dan Alexander said. “That’s all we’re asking for and we want to get this in place. We want to get it all groomed up, go through the year, see how it works and hopefully, it will help us. People will be buying food, eating and drinking, not just drinking. We hope down that road that we’re not just a nightclub, a late-night nightclub.”

Alexander and co-owner Turner Abbott pledged to come up with a business plan at a January council meeting and passed it out to council members at a Feb. 12 regular session.

“The incidents we talked about at the Jan. 22 meeting were between the two and three o’clock hour,” Mayor Pro Tem Philip Harris said. “Several of which were outside of your business in the parking lot but potentially customers in and out of the back door. What’s your plan to manage that back door and your customers and how does this plan help with that problem?”

Alexander said they were bringing in a new partner who would help with the addition of food and alcohol education for the bar’s employees.

“One of the main things is the education about the intoxication of other people in the alcohol awareness class,” Alexander said. “We already have somebody in play that is coming on as a partner that can teach it. He’s already done it. And, some of the people he’s bringing have already taken the class. We think that’s very big because that’s not something that’s gone on there before and it certainly will help us recognize people before they even come or before they leave.”

The happy hour crowd from nearby Craft Farms quit coming to the bar in the afternoons after the back door was closed as an entrance. Alexander hopes the food option and being able to leave it open until much earlier in the evening will entice those customers to come back.

“We’ve had no happy hour since that back door has been locked,” Alexander said. “The happy hour crowd was a little older and they’re not walking around. They’re just not going to. As a matter of fact, they go to another place already.

“The only other thing is that we are bringing food on and we hope first off that brings people in early. Hopefully, if that’s the case down the road if this comes up again, we hope that we can say we don’t have to stay open until three. That’s fine, let’s work it out.”

The council voted 3-1 to give the conditional license and removed the 2 a.m. closing time. Harris, Gary Sinak and Steve Jones voted for the license and Joe Garris voted against. Mayor Robert Craft and Councilman Jason Dyken were not present.