Maurice’s 2 a.m. bar closing going into effect

MAURICE — A night out in the Village of Maurice is about to get a little shorter.
The village’s new bar closing ordinance is set to go into effect Friday, which means City Bar, Booze Barn and Bar 167 will be shutting down at 2 a.m. on Saturday.
The establishments in Maurice used to remain open until 3 a.m. That ordinance had held since 1986.
The Maurice Board of Aldermen voted 3-0 during their general meeting in February to eliminate the extra hour. The vote came after some argued that remaining open until 3 a.m. brings people from other areas to Maurice to drink after bars have closed at 2 a.m. in other areas, leading to possible safety issues.
The rest of Vermilion Parish, as well as neighboring Lafayette Parish, has a 2 a.m. bar closing time set. The Vermilion Parish Police Jury voted to set its law in 2012.
“I am happy that we will have continuity with the rest of the parish,” Maurice Mayor Wayne Theriot said.
Maurice Police Chief Warren Rost said his department will work with the bar owners to ease in the new ordinance.
“I have already met with one of the owners,” Rost said during Wednesday’s board of aldermen meeting. “He contends that within 15 to 20 minutes (after 2 a.m.), that everyone should be cleared out of the bar.
“For the first few months we will work with all of the bar owners to get this situated and make sure everybody is on the same page.”