Concerns remain for Macon bar owners around a significant decrease in their revenue, two years after the landmark decision by the Macon-Bibb County Commission to make bars close earlier.
The local ordinances, passed in 2023, require bars to stop serving alcohol and have all patrons out of the building by 2 a.m. The previous rules also stopped alcohol sales at 2 a.m., and then all patrons had to be out by 3 a.m..
Brandon Lawler is the owner and operator of JBA in downtown Macon. He says that the new ordinances have affected his bar financially because of the reduction in operating time that the law has caused.
“It means we start closing up to half an hour before 2 a.m. to be compliant. We’ve always had to stop serving by 2 a.m. Could we make more money in that half hour it takes to get everybody out? Technically, yes,” says Lawler.
Lawler agrees that incidents of crime in downtown Macon is an issue for the city, but isn’t convinced that the new ordinances have had the desired effect.
“Antisocial behavior isn’t determined by a bar being open or closed. Can a large congregation of intoxicated people in one dense area cause issues? Yes. Correlation doesn’t equal causation,” says Lawler.
According to data from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office, the reported homicide rate has dropped from 71 in 2022 to 29 in 2025. This data takes into account the entire city of Macon; however, downtown Macon is still a hotspot for violent crime in 2026, based on recent incidents of shots being fired on Third Street and a separate incident on Cherry Street, reported by 13WMAZ.
The Bibb County Sheriff’s Office increased the number of deputies in downtown Macon from three to ten, along with the earlier closing times in 2023, according to a report from 13WMAZ.
