French Quarter businesses planning to close early for Cinco de Mayo
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Cinco de Mayo in the French Quarter typically means packed patios, festive music and lines down the block. But this year, the celebration will be cut short along Bienville Street, as several bars and restaurants plan to close early.
Felipe's Mexican Taqueria and Ryan's Pub have announced they will voluntarily shut their doors at 6 p.m., despite the evening being one of their biggest nights of the year.
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'This year we would try to close a little bit earlier to give ourselves and other businesses on the block, as well as the police, more time to sort of organize, and not have a situation where the crowd was there late and possibly violence was the end result, which is what we have seen in the past,' Pike Howard, owner of Felipe's Mexican Taqueria said.
The move comes in response to recent violence in the area, including a shooting during French Quarter Fest just blocks away. Last Cinco de Mayo, one man was killed following a shooting on Bienville Street.
'Let's play a little offense. Let's make a decision to try to do something about an issue that we know has been happening in the past, and make sure that it doesn't happen going forward,' said Howard.
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While early closures mean a significant hit to revenue, especially for Mexican restaurants on a holiday that brings in massive crowds, owners say the decision will hopefully restore safety and confidence in the French Quarter.
'Cinco de Mayo is literally the Super Bowl of Mexican restaurants, right? So it's not something we want to do, but we feel like if we do this now, in the future it will pay dividends later. People will want to come here and feel safe and have a good time in the French Quarter,' said Howard.Third person arrested in Kentwood homicide case
French Quarter businesses planning to close early for Cinco de Mayo
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