TUCSON, Ariz. — Typically Fourth Avenue is one of the busiest at nighttime in Tucson, but the mandatory curfew in city limits has pumped the brakes on that.
Ben Sattler co-owns The Drunken Chicken — he closed his doors at 10 p.m. to fall in line with the three-week mandate.
Even though his business is following the rules he doesn’t think it’s going to work to slow the spread of the virus.
“If I wanted to go get a drink after my restaurant is closed, forcibly. Then, I can leave city limits, which is about 5 -10 minutes away, and grab a drink if a place chooses to be open,” said Ben Sattler, co-owner of The Drunken Chicken.
That’s because the 10 p.m. curfew is only mandatory in Tucson city limits, but it’s voluntary for the rest of Pima County.
He said the city, county, and state should all be on the same page.
Heading a few minutes south on Fourth Avenue, you’ll find The Boxyard. An outdoor eatery that's also happy to follow the rules, even if it means closing a few hours earlier.
“Every city is going to be different. Every county is going to be different states different. As long as we're going to take our advantages of being open when we can," said Raxon Cho, assistant manager of Boxyard.
On top of the city’s new curfew — Tucson businesses like Boxyard and the Drunken Chicken have county rules to follow as well, including mandating masks and reporting COVID-19 cases to the county.
Related: Tucson business owner urges community to follow rules so no curfew is enacted
KGUN9 On Your Side has requested those documents from the Tucson Police Department for anyone who has been cited for not following the curfew.
