LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- This year almost everyone in Arkansas will be watching the New Year’s Eve ball drop from their own living rooms.
Governor Asa Hutchinson’s mandate to close bars at 11 p.m. is still in place through the new year, which will significantly impact some local bars in Little Rock like Brewski’s Pub & Grub.
“We will be closing down at 11 to make sure everyone gets home safely,” general manger LC Copland said. “New Year’s Eve is usually our biggest night of the year, and unfortunately we aren’t able to party like we usually do.”
Copland says the bar typically ends the night making $30,000 but thinks this year they probably won’t make $4,000.
“2020 has shown everybody it’s about being safe, and we are doing our part, ya know,” he said. “It sucks that you can’t party like you want to, but the safest thing to do is go home, social distance and be safe.”
On top of closing early, the bar is still following the mandates and only allowing 33 percent capacity in the building. Copland expects to turn people away.
“We’ll start a line and if they can get in, they’ll get it,” he said.
Copland noted the bar will still be celebrating 2021, with karaoke, a champagne toast at 10:30 p.m. and maybe even a count down before closing at 11.