Some Local Bars Stay Open Past Governor's Curfew As Lawsuit Against State Pends

Some bars on New Year's Eve chose to stay open past Governor Kevin Stitt's 11 p.m. Curfew. This comes after the ABLE commission said that it would not enforce the curfew until the court made a final decision on a pending lawsuit against the state.

Related Story: Hearing Delay Means Local Bars Will Be Open New Year's Eve

The pending lawsuit allowed bars named in the lawsuit a grace period to stay open past the governor's curfew, but many other bars decided to stay open as well.

Several Tulsa bar owners said they were encouraging social distancing, masks, they used dividers and some even took the party online!

Tulsa's Mercury Lounge remained open until 2 a.m. but capped their crowd at 30 and live-streamed their concert as well.

Related Story: Some Green Country Bars Stay Open After ABLE Commission Halts Enforcement Of Stitt’s Curfew

Other Bars like Empire said they decided not to have their big champagne toast at midnight.

"We are planning to stay open until 2 we're a neighborhood bar that does not see a lot of traffic," said Larissa Darnaby, a bartender at Empire.

An Oklahoma County judge will hear the case on January 8th.