UPDATE (June 6, 2020): The City of Atlanta is no longer enforcing a curfew. Read more here.
Atlanta’s restaurants, and “essential” businesses in general, are exempt from the City’s nightly curfew that is now in effect through sunrise on Monday, June 8, the Georgia Restaurant Association (GRA) Friday clarified in a statement.
“The curfew does not apply to essential businesses, which includes restaurants,” the GRA announced.
“The curfew is intended to keep the city’s sidewalks and streets clear. However, it does not prohibit persons from traveling in the city via motor vehicle. As such, restaurants should ensure that all patrons are entering their establishment via the restaurant’s designated parking area, as opposed to parking along a street and walking to the restaurant. We recommend encouraging patrons who will be out past curfew to keep a copy of their receipt as an abundance of caution, should they be stopped for any reason.”
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms on Thursday issued the Executive Order for the weekend-long curfew and on Friday, via the City’s official Twitter account, said “businesses” did not have to close at 8 p.m., echoing the GRA’s statement.
The curfews, which started Sunday, May 31, were enacted in response to rioting and looting amid peaceful protests spurred by the in-police-custody-death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on Monday, May 25.
