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Now local officials are considering a broader tactic: forcing all bars close at a specific hour every night.
The discussion is in the preliminary stages, but it arose in talks between the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office and the town over ways to get a handle on the continuing number of fights and assaults at busy island nightspots. A particularly large, chaotic early morning brawl at Club Life in May led to a number of complaints and calls for action from concerned residents, Sheriff P.J. Tanner said.
The Sheriff's Office is compiling data on incidents at local bars, including the number and nature of calls at various spots, both before and after 2 a.m. Once a final report is ready in the next few weeks, town officials will examine it and decide whether they should consider an ordinance to require bars close at a specific hour.
Tanner said that kind of law can deter a broad range of crime, from bar fights and drunken driving incidents to domestic violence and purse snatchings.
Some people "get 10-foot-tall and bulletproof as the night progresses," Tanner said. "There needs to be a time when it's time to go home; (when) if you want to keep drinking ... do it at home."
Bars in South Carolina are allowed to serve liquor from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Saturday. But they can keep serving beer and wine as long as they'd like, according to state law. Sunday sales require a special permit.
Most bars on Hilton Head close at 2 a.m., but a handful on the south end stay open until the wee hours. Some don't even get busy until after 2 a.m. when crowds from other bars let out.
Charleston passed an ordinance in 2003 that forced bars to close at 2 a.m., and North Charleston passed a similar law last fall. The Post and Courier published a story last month saying the law helped reduce late-night crime and noise over the past five years.
But is it the right solution for Hilton Head?
Town officials aren't sure, though most agree they must do something to combat the number of bar and alcohol-related incidents grabbing headlines and frustrating law enforcement.
"My feeling about it is, if the private individuals can't solve the problem, then the town may have to try, and they may not like the results of what the town tries," said Councilman George Williams, a member of the town's Public Safety Committee. Williams said he's not necessarily in favor of closing the bars early, but he's worried the cost of the extra Sheriff's Office patrols will start to add up.
"There are other people around that maintain quiet (bars) and in general do well," he said. "So it's hard to say, 'Well, we want to close everyone down at two.' Then you negatively affect people who do a good job."
CONTINUING VIOLENCE
A series of brutal attacks at island bars has already ignited a major Sheriff's Office crackdown this summer.
As many as 10 deputies have been conducting "aggressive" patrols of the five-bar Hilton Head Plaza area, commonly known as the Barmuda Triangle, every weekend. It usually results in 10 or more arrests on busy Friday nights, said Capt. Toby McSwain, head of the Sheriff's Office southern enforcement division.
An island bartender was nearly beaten to death in the parking lot in February. He has since nearly recovered.
In another incident in late May, a Hilton Head man was left paralyzed from the neck down after a pile-driver attack at L Wood's in Circle Center.
A near-riot at one club in May was perhaps the biggest incident so far. Shortly before 3 a.m., deputies arrived at Club Life in Heritage Plaza on Pope Avenue to find between 40 and 45 people involved in a melee in the parking lot.
Patio furniture, trash cans, ashtrays, rocks and beer bottles were being thrown. Deputies used pepper spray to subdue the crowd. Later that night, a man was shot several times at Hilton Head Gardens apartments -- a spill over from the fight, the Sheriff's Office said.
Gunfire has also been reported in the plaza's parking lot in two separate incidents.
"I think you'll find that the majority of citizens that live on Hilton Head probably can't figure out why anyone would want to be out at two o'clock in the morning partying," Tanner said. "We've got to deal with this issue because there are crimes committed in locations (on) Hilton Head."
But despite the notable late-night attacks, many incidents at places such as the Triangle happen during regular bar hours -- often after midnight but before 2 a.m.
Tanner said that's why he doesn't think the data the Sheriff's Office is collecting will be enough to give the town a clear answer on whether it should pursue a closing-hour law. The Town Council is going to have to rely on other factors, including input from the business community, feedback from residents and the effects the law had in Charleston.
"I don't think there's going to be enough there to raise an eyebrow," he said. "We don't have a lot of bars that stay open after two. I don't know that they could survive as a business."
Instead of a blanket ordinance, the town could consider a nuisance law that could target only the high-crime bars and clubs, assistant town manager Greg DeLoach said. That type of ordinance could have the power to revoke the business license of establishments that are frequent offenders.
That raises its own questions: What if the fight is in the parking lot? Do you base it on number of incidents, or type of crime committed?
"You have to penalize the bad guys," DeLoach said.
BARS ADDRESS THE ISSUE
The people who could be most upset at a mandatory closing time might be the servers and bartenders themselves. Many head out to the few after-hours bars and clubs once their shifts are over.
After a long day behind the bar or carrying a tray, a trip to a place like Rider's Lounge on Target Road is good way to listen to music and relax before calling it a night, some workers say.
"A lot of the restaurants, it would be a hardship for them to close at an early hour," said Tom Reilley, who owns the Reilley's Grill and Bar chain and the Hilton Head Plaza, where the Triangle is located. "There are some restaurants and some bars that depend on that business to survive."
Some bars are already trying to address the wave of violence on their own.
Reilley gathered more than 100 restaurant and bar owners and employees at his restaurant about a month ago to talk about increasing security and identifying the warning signs of trouble.
Several of the bars and restaurants signed up for state-certified alcohol awareness programs that teaches servers how to verify IDs and check if someone's been over served, he said. He's also added lighting and security cameras at the Triangle, where one of the bars, the Hilton Head Brewing Company, sometimes stays open after 2 a.m..
"All of us are getting together just trying to make our employees understand that, especially late night, there is a risk out there, and how to identify that risk," he said.
If the town does propose a law, input from the bar community will be critical, said Ann-Marie Adams-Arrington, executive director of the Hilton Head Area Hospitality Association. The association will most likely survey its members to get their opinion, just as it did when the smoking ban was first proposed, she said. Reviewing the data from the Sheriff's Office is the first step, she said.
"If there is ... continued aggravated ... reports of problems, then the community as a whole, including the (food and beverage) community, needs to weigh in on finite solutions to those problems," shesaid.
The late-night violence could eventually hurt Hilton Head's image as a family-friendly resort, said Williams, the councilman. And it's not going away on its own, he said.
"It is not conducive for what we want to be which is a tourist, safe community for everybody," he said. "A solution will be found. It'sjust a question of if everyone will be happy with it."
