Kissimmee city leaders, downtown business owners and residents will come together Tuesday at 3 p.m. to talk about potential changes to times alcohol sales end at bars and restaurants.
Leaders, like Mayor Jackie Espinosa, say any changes made would be made to promote public safety
"This is a tricky one for me. I'm hearing the the voices of residents and merchants," said Espinosa, who owns the combo Kissimmee Diner, which opens at 6 a.m. for breakfast, and Matador Tacos and Tapas, which closes at midnight in the same location. "We need to attract bigger investment in downtown, but that will take cooperation from everyone."
Currently, bars and restaurants may serve until 2 a.m. While those with Kissimmee Main Street say there is simple discussion right now about moving that up to 1 a.m. -- costing some merchants a rather lucrative hour on Friday and Saturday nights -- Espinosa said that word being spread that the Commission would act on a plan to end alcohol sales at midnight is false, and the process leading to any new ordinances is in the very early stages.
"(Former city police chief Jeff) O'Dell suggested that two years ago, nothing has been proposed," she said. "I close Matador at 12, sometimes 12:30, because I have a kitchen to open back up at 6. I could make thousands more a week. We know people leave ours and go to the other places."
Following a small number of incidents that have spilled into streets like Dakin Street, and a 2023 shooting that injured a Breeze bartender, merchants began paying for extra police shifts to patrol the area. The Kissimmee Police Department is current led by interim Chief Robert Anzueto, and Espinosa said the situation will get clearer once a permanent chief is in place.
"We can make ordinances that apply to all of the city limits, or just to downtown, or somewhere in between," she said. "We can do what we want to benefit everyone. We can decide what we want if people can agree."
The city will make an audio recording of Tuesday afternoon's workshop available at kissimmee.gov.
