Extended retail/bar hours

[Djentmaster001]

I've always had the thought of what would happen if stores didn't close early in Montreal, mainly on the weekends. On one hand, it gives a nice work-life balance, but on the other hand, stores closing at 5 pm in a major city gives it a dead feeling. I've had friends from the states, and also people here who want stores to be opened later on weekends, preferably until 9 pm. 

2. Bars being open till 6 am, with the last call being at 5:30 am. 

The question is

1. In your opinion: would you want retail/store hours extended until 9 pm on weekends, and would you want bars open until 6 am? 

2. Would it benefit the economy, will things stay the same or will it be a boon?

3. Will it have a huge impact on society? or a minimal one?

 

[IluvMTL]

Montreal now has the power to regulate bar hours. Why don't they use it tonight, rather than closing an hour earlier....

[Djentmaster001]

7 minutes ago, IluvMTL said:

Montreal now has the power to regulate bar hours. Why don't they use it tonight, rather than closing an hour earlier....

I'm hoping the city will do something to extend last call. Even if it's 4-am Monday-Thursday, Friday-Sunday 6-am or something like that. 

[IluvMTL]

In some countries bars close after clients leave, not a set hour. Here they have to close even though the place is packed.

[Mondo_Grosso]

I think that bars and clubs should be aloud to stay open until 6am, but only on weekends. Public transit is too congested during the week in the morning already, imagine adding the drunk crowd to the mix.

It's a mixed answer for retail hour extensions. A lot of stores will make a lot of money on weekends in a short amount of time, the sense of urgency is good for business. Employees enjoy the work/life balance too. I don't hear a lot of calls from the business community to extend weekdend hours, so it must not be valued that much.

 

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Many cities have no last call, leaving it up to the bar owner to decide the hours. That effectively means that most bars still close relatively early and only a handful will go until very late. 

For instance, in Hong Kong there is no city-wide last call, only conditions placed on a specific liquor licence depending on its location. There are a few 24-hour bars, but the vast majority close between midnight and 2am, with some staying open until 4am or 5am if they play sports or have a party atmosphere. 

So basically, these things can be self-regulating, and in quiet residential areas you can impose some specific restrictions. It makes no sense to have a city-wide last call that is the same in the Latin Quarter or on Crescent Street as it is in Villeray.