SALISBURY, Md. - Effective 10 p.m. Friday night, bars, restaurants and other establishments in Maryland must close their doors.
On Tuesday, Governor Larry Hogan announced more restrictions in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. In addition to restaurants closing at 10, indoor capacity has been lowered to 50% for all retail spaces.
Some bar and restaurant owners say they had a feeling more restrictions would come sooner or later. Those same owners say they understand the need to ensure the public's safety, but what they're unsure of is how effective the 10 p.m. curfew will be.
"I can understand the regulations, but I don't necessarily think, if you're using all the proper safety measures, they're not necessarily," says Bryan Brushmiller of Burley Oak Brewing Company in Berlin.
For some, 10 o'clock is still early in evening. So, when the bars do close, do people just call it a night? Brushmiller wonders if people will leave the bars to go to other places where they can congregate and continue drinking.
Alex Scott, who owns The Brick Room in downtown Salisbury, believes people might all together change their habits to fit the new 10 p.m. curfew.
"The curfew is gonna affect everybody's businesses. Especially any that rely on alcohol sales... You'll see more day drinkers but having a curfew? It's just going to change people's habits," says Scott.
What about the bartenders? The hours from 10 until close are oftentimes peak money-making hours. Lauren Presto, a bartender at Burley Oak says, "it might put some people out of jobs, honestly."
Under the new restrictions, in-person dining will not be allowed between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Carryout and delivery services, however, will still be able to operate.