Last year, the Oak Bluffs select board voted to move up last call by 30 minutes, from 1 a.m. to 12:30 a.m., to be in sync with when patrons can get their last drink in Edgartown. The decision was made to curb rowdiness and relieve stress on the understaffed police department.
One summer into the new rule and Oak Bluffs businesses say they are suffering because of it, losing both money and the town’s status as the epicenter of the Island late-night revelry.
“I wish there could be a change to go back, but the town made the rule,” said Ralston Francis, owner of Eleven Circuit Restaurant and Bar.
Mr. Francis estimated his business has lost somewhere between $70,000 to $100,000 in sales this summer because of the change, and it has hurt bartenders who rely on tips.
“If we could just get it for the summer, then in the winter then go back to 12:30 a.m., then sure,” he said.
Larkin Stallings, owner of the Ritz Cafe and the president of the Oak Bluffs Association, also estimated a $100,000 loss in sales at the Ritz and was worried about his employees.
“It absolutely has been very significant for our employees, our bartenders and servers and barbacks and that whole group,” said Mr. Stallings.
Not only are they missing out on an extra 30 minutes of work and tips, but when Oak Bluffs closed after Edgartown, the majority of patrons in the last half hour were service industry professionals who tend to tip better than people from other industries, Mr. Stallings said.
Eddie Silvia, a bartender who works at the Ritz and the Seafood Shanty in Edgartown, has seen the impact of the new last call firsthand.
“It has changed a little bit in tips because around 12, 12:30 p.m. is when the party for customers really starts,” Mr. Silvia said.
Mr. Silvia said that tips are down this summer, though he added that other factors could have played a role, including the rising cost of visiting Martha’s Vineyard.
The Oak Bluffs police department called for the change last year, saying that bars were letting out when the department shifts were changing, making it hard to address other public safety concerns. Police chief Jonathan Searle said he wanted more officers on the clock when bar-related incidents are most common.
“Looking at public safety for the entire town . . . there were two bars in particular that were complaining about the rollback, but the whole town deserves public safety,” he said.
Chief Searle added that while he had heard a number of people complaining about business being worse this summer, he does not think that the change in last call is the reason behind it. He pointed to several other considerations, including prices, the general state of the economy and poor Steamship service.
Emma Green-Beach, a select board member who voiced conflicted feelings about the change but voted in favor of it alongside other changes to the town’s alcohol policy, said she is not sure if the new last call time had been successful.
“I wish I had something concrete to say,” she said. “I don’t know that it has helped solve any of the problems we hoped it would.”
Ms. Green-Beach added that she had heard from members of the business community that patrons were shifting their habits to spend money in other towns, but that she had no hard data to back that up.
Jordan Wallace, owner of Midnight Mediterranean and Midnight Taco, is worried about the long-term effects on the town.
“Well, there’s an immediate effect that’s easy to take a look at, you can run the sales on your credit card processing terminals . . . . But one thing that that number can’t take into account is the change in the vibe of the town and the branding of the fun town on the Island,” Mr. Wallace said. “There’s a trickle down effect when you send the message that we don’t want to be open late anymore.”
JB Blau, owner of two restaurants in Oak Bluffs and the Loft nightclub, shared Mr. Wallace’s concerns. Mr. Blau said that Oak Bluffs has lost its competitive edge over Edgartown. Where the extra half hour used to lure people away from Edgartown, there’s a new calculus going on in customer’s minds that could affect other industries in Oak Bluffs, he said.
“A lot of people would book hotel rooms for Edgartown weddings in Oak Bluffs because they knew after the wedding, they were going to end in Oak Bluffs,” Mr. Blau said. “I don’t know what the case is now.”
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