Photo: The Bar Bar
By Flynn Snyder
Published: Jan. 9, 2023 at 5:46 PM EST
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - It’s a new addition to City Market that isn’t sitting well with some businesses.
Images show fencing temporarily set up around the City Market courtyard over the weekend.
Late night spot, The Bar Bar, posted photos on Facebook garnering hundreds of comments.
The Bar Bar staff didn’t want to go on camera but said the fencing “severely affected our business and hurt us and our employees. Our staff lost hundreds in tips that they depend on to pay their bills.”
Staff said they were told the fencing would be up Thursday to Saturday.
This isn’t the first-time similar measures have been put in place.
After a string of shootings here over the summer, City Market put up signs and barricades banning people under 21 past 11 p.m. and outright banned weapons.
The Bar Bar also says quote, “more of a police presence may have helped instead of pushing out locally owned establishments to ‘band aid’ the problem they have seen. Our doors will remain open until 3 a.m. as long as we legally can.”
The fencing comes after City Market’s new owners told WTOC they want to focus the area more on family and less on nightlife…saying that closing at midnight would help them reach that goal.
The Bar Bar says their lease is not up, so they are not part of the midnight closing mandate.
We reached out to the new City Market owners today about the fence and have not heard back yet.
Some who frequent City Market say they’re in favor of the new measures.
“I was out here one of the nights when there was a shooting. When I heard they were implementing safety precautions, I was like, ‘That’s smart,’” said Bekah Hoogerwerf.
City Market is private property.
A group called Green Room Partners owns the buildings and leases them out and they say no business will be asked to end their lease early.
Savannah Police say preliminary info doesn’t show any major crimes happened in this area over the weekend and their patrol efforts will remain the same.
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