Popular South Street Businesses Closing Earlier On Weekends Amid Spike In Crime
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- All summer long, there has been a spike in crime along South Street, from shootings to teenage flash mobs causing chaos. Now, some of the most popular businesses on South Street are closing early.
Ask any Philadelphian what they do after the bars close at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and you'll probably get a response like this.
"You come get food," Renee McDowell said.
That's usually what happens along South Street, where places like Jim's Steaks, Wawa, Lorenzo and Sons Pizza and Ishkabibble's have been catering to the late night crowds for years, staying open until 3 a.m. and sometimes even later.
"When you get out at 2 or 2:30, you're starving," McDowell said. "You've been drinking and dancing. You're having a good time. You want to get something to eat."
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But that has now changed after a string of high-profile violent incidents along South Street.
More than 60 teenagers terrorized the area after the fireworks ended on the Fourth of July.
A few weeks earlier, on Father's Day weekend, the city was rocked by 19 shootings -- including two on South Street.
One of those shootings came in front of the 9th Street Wawa.
"I think we decided it was time to take some drastic steps," South Street Headhouse District executive director Michael Harris said.
Harris says six businesses -- including the staples like Jim's and Lorenzo's -- have all voluntarily agreed to close their doors at 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. He says it's dispersing the crowds earlier.
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Jim's Steaks co-owner Ken Silver admitted that his business has taken a hit over the past four weekends that the new policy has been in effect.
"We're not offsetting it. We're taking the loss," Silver said. "We decided it makes a lot of sense to close an hour earlier here on Friday and Saturday night. The crowds that are building at that time of the night aren't building for the reasons we want them down here."
But Silver says this is a long-term strategy despite the hit to his restaurant's bottom line.
"We're hoping that is creates more of an atmosphere of security and families so people will come down here and enjoy the street, more late night than not enjoy it," Silver said.
For those that do enjoy a late-night snack, that simply means grabbing that last drink before last call.
"I'm going to have to leave around 1:30 so that I can come and get in line if I want to come and get something to eat on the late night," McDowell said.
Initially the changes were planned for the summer only, but the business owners Eyewitness News spoke with say the new hours will remain intact for the foreseeable future.
