ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Bars in downtown Orlando on Monday were allowed to be open longer than they have since the middle of March 2020.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer and Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings lifted curfews that began at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on selective days.
Phase two in Florida’s reopening plan allowed for bars to reopen, but curfews were quickly issued because of protests.
Dyer said a contributing factor to lifting the curfew was Saturday’s march of more than 10,000 people that resulted in zero arrests.
Over at the Embassy Irish Bar in downtown Orlando, bartender Michelle Worrell told News 6 that she is excited to make changes to their employee schedule since more people will be able to get back to work.
“We are just excited that the curfew has been lifted and it’s back to normal hours," said Worrell. “The last day I worked was St. Patrick’s Day and we were supposed to be open until 5 and then the governor shut us down at 3 o’clock and that’s our busiest day of the year.”
Worrell said since they opened early on Monday, they still planned to close at 10 p.m., despite the curfew being lifted. She said the business will remain open later starting on Tuesday.
“We are so excited to be opened up again. You know just wanting to see our people, our regulars you know because it’s just been so hard not being around people," said Worrell.
Another bar owner told News 6 that Monday nights are typically slow in downtown, with some bars not open during normal schedules. He said the effects of the phase two reopening without curfews will start to be felt Tuesday and throughout the week.