COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state’s rejection of a proposed two-day exemption to its 10 p.m. curfew to let fans cheer on Ohio teams in bars for two huge playoff games was met with frustration from hard-hit business owners, but even among the bar industry, some were concerned lifting the curfew for football would be a radical step.


What You Need To Know

  • Ohio's 10 p.m. curfew will remain in effect for the upcoming games

  • The governor shot down a proposal to temporarily exempt bars from the curfew

  • Facing the same financial pain, bars are divided on lifting safety measures

​​The exemption would have allowed fans to spectate in bars and restaurants for the Ohio State Buckeye’s shot at the national championship and would let establishments in Cleveland keep their doors open for the team’s first playoff game in 18 years.

Ohio State and Alabama will kick off at 8 p.m. Monday; the Browns at 8:15 p.m. Sunday.

The state’s 10 p.m. curfew, which has been in place since Nov. 19, will remain in effect for the games. Fans will follow a now-familiar routine, patronizing sports bars and restaurants until they are ushered out around half time when the clock passes curfew.

Gov. Mike DeWine addressed the proposed exemptions to the curfew for the playoff games during a news conference this week. The governor, taking a question on a petition to lift the curfew for two nights of primetime football, turned to his producer and asked if he could wind back to a slide with the latest coronavirus numbers, which showed more than 100 daily deaths and concerning hospital trends.

“I understand that you have great desire for people to go to a bar and root on the Buckeyes and root on the Browns, but that would simply add to the spread that you already have,” he said. “I’d love to do it, but we can’t do it. We just can’t do it. We can’t add to the problem.”

The idea gained steam with a petition created by the owner of Threes Above High in Columbus’s University District. The Ohio Restaurant Association has joined the effort to put pressure on the governor to lift the curfew for the two big games. 

“The economic impact of allowing bars and restaurants to stay open past curfew for this one time National Championship event could make a huge difference to many struggling businesses in our state,” owner Scott Ellsworth’s message to the governor said. “This could be an amazing way to reward an already bruised and beaten industry.”

Threes Above High's owner Scott Ellsworth started a petition to lift the curfew for two nights.

With cases so high, some in the bar and restaurant industry say it would be a terrible idea to lift the curfew in the deadliest week of the pandemic.

The Bottle Shop, a bar and wine shop on King Avenue just a few blocks from Ohio Stadium, has taken a more cautious response to the pandemic than some of its neighbors.

“I don't think forgoing the curfew or coronavirus regulations just to enjoy a couple of nights of football revelry is worth it at this juncture," bar manager Brock Kalbfleisch said.

After opening back up in the summer, the establishment closed its bar and pivoted to to-go sales when cases began to spiral upward.

“After the initial reopening of the bar, it wasn't worth the risk especially when the cases jumped up and started increasing in the fall. And then although the cases got worse, it doesn't seem like a lot of the customer base responded appropriately,” Kalbfleisch said. 

Until this week, the level of pressure on state and local officials to reopen the economy and lift restrictions on food and beverage had quieted down.

Ohio was reporting 500-1000 daily cases for much of the summer months, numbers not low enough to fully reopen the economy, but nothing like the peak of 10,000 daily cases that December would bring. During the phased reopening of sectors of the economy through the spring and summer, Ohioans clamored for more freedom and fewer restrictions.

Then cases skyrocketed in the fall, and reopening calls lost momentum in November when hospitals became badly strained and refrigerated trucks were called in for the dead in some parts of the state. Some restaurants struggled to get patrons in the door as diners’ comfort-level with indoor consumption dropped during the surge.

In a video chat with Spectrum News, Ellsworth said allowing a couple of extra hours of service for sports bars would bring less public health risk to the community than kicking out customers at halftime. That would potentially send customers off to more close-quarters watch parties in their friends’ living rooms, he said. 

“You're telling people to leave a safe environment and go to an unsafe environment to watch the second half of the game. There's a lot of oversight than that,” Ellsworth. “We're just looking for the governor to give us a little bit of a break.”  

In Columbus, shortly after the state implemented its curfew, city officials enacted a stay-at-home advisory to avoid all non-essential activities. Officials said residents should continue to patronize restaurants with to-go ordering and delivery. Indoor dining was discouraged but not prohibited. 

Ellsworth said the calls for extending the curfew are about more than the finances of staying open on what could be one of the most lucrative days in many months. For the fans, these games are about the experience, and he wants fans to watch special games together with each other at the bar.

“I think it's an important thing for everybody to be able to get together,” he said. “Watching a full football game was never something that you thought would be in jeopardy 10 months ago, but here we are today pleading with the governor to give us extra time to sit and watch and cheer and celebrate the Buckeyes in the most major game of football season.” 

Manager Billy Seach said The Little Bar, pictured, is the best place to watch the game on Monday.

When a surge in COVID-19 numbers throughout the Midwest put states like Ohio on notice by federal officials monitoring hotspots, the state faced pressure to shut down indoor dining altogether. The governor briefly considered that step before ultimately striking a “compromise” with White House doctors to establish the curfew, he said.

The governor explained the state has no money to keep the restaurant industry afloat if it were to close dining. The curfew, originally enacted as a three-week measure, has now been extended several times and will remain in effect until at least Jan. 23. When the curfew is ultimately lifted, Ohio could return to the 11 p.m. closing time for on-premise alcohol consumption that was in place in the summer.

Kalbfleisch said even though it is no fun leaving the bar at halftime, lots of establishments have take-home drinks for customers to enjoy during the second half at home. 

Bars near campus in a normal year could credit a meaningful volume of their yearly business to Ohio State athletics, but Kalbfleisch says the industry is hurting because the pandemic is out of control, and people do not feel safe going out. That would be the reality whether or not the state sends customers home early, he said.

“In a successful year where OSU has a postseason and plays in bowl games and the college football playoffs, it's just another great extension to a good business climate. Unfortunately, this year has been completely different,” he said.

He said business at the Bottle Shop has been hit hard by the pandemic, forcing the owner to make layoffs. Kalbfleisch is just fortunate to still have a job when many of his former coworkers and friends do not.

“With or without football, with or without bars being open on the night of the national championship game or the Browns playoff game, numbers would still be down because of the coronavirus. It still wouldn't be as much money out there. People still, in large part don't feel safe congregating in large crowds or going out to enjoy drinks or food inside places.”