EAST POINT, Ga. — Roughly a week ago, on March, 24, many Tri-Cities residents received their stay-at-home orders from their respective local governments.
Along with 14-day citywide curfews that start from 9:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., daily until April 7, 2020, all local businesses and services were split into two basic categories: essential and non-essential.
All essential businesses and services were allowed to continue to operate while implementing social distancing protocol of six feet between each person.
Non-essential businesses and services, however, were ordered to close and remain closed, effective as of March 24, 2020, for no less than seven calendar days.
On March 30, the East Point City Council approved to extend the closing of non-essential businesses through April 7, 2020, to coincide with the ‘Stay-at-home’ order.
Since the shutdown, several concerned East Point residents started asking the same question:
Why aren’t liquor stores listed as an essential business?
One of these citizens was Curtis Allen, who has lived in East Point for nearly 30 years in the Conley Hills neighborhood along with his wife and two sons.
“I think that if you’re not going to restaurants and bars, it’s going to be vital, actually,” says Allen.
The Conley Hills resident discovered that package stores were not on the essential list as he searched for an open store last Thursday and realized that every store that he visited had a posted sign stating their 7-day closure.
Allen cleverly turned the social media app, Nextdoor in order to seek some assistance from the local community.
Package Stores closed!!
‘I hate to do this, neighbors, but who's got an extra bottle of Tito’s I can CashApp you for??!’
Allen's idea worked like a charm. By the time he returned home for running an errand the requested bottle of Tito’s was sitting on his back porch, courtesy of his actual next-door neighbor.
“If everyone is doing what we’re being asked to do, staying at home. You’re going to need some type of release,” Allen tells My East Point News.
Essential businesses and services are permitted to remain open during
the curfew, including some of the following:
- Grocery Stores
- Food Banks
- Outdoor Farmers Markets
- Gas Stations
- Banks and financial institutions
- Hotels
- Hardware Stores and nurseries
- Healthcare Providers and facilities
- Transportation services
- City and County Government Services
Non-essential businesses in East Point:
- Bars
- Nightclubs
- Dine-in facilities
- Gyms
- Salons (Hair and nail) and spas
- Recreation facilities
- Entertainment venues
- Convention centers
- Restaurants (dine-in services only will be shut down)
- Public events and gatherings
While a vast majority of ordinances around the metro Atlanta include package stores under essential businesses, currently in the Tri-Cities area, East Point is the only municipality where residents cannot purchase liquor from a package store.
During the East Point City Council special meeting on March 30, the topic of package stores was not addressed leaving the stores under the mandate of non-essential business closures and therefore to remain closed through April 7, 2020.
No further emergency ordinance meetings are listed under the city’s website at this time.
The City of East Point will continue to monitor the Coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic and work with its partners at all levels of government to remain up to date. Get more information about the ordinance on the city's website.
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