Improving safety or overreaching? Salt Lake City’s after-hours alcohol proposal sparks backlash

SALT LAKE CITY — Thinh Doan was scrolling online last week when he came across coverage of a new ordinance Salt Lake City government is considering.

Salt Lake City police say an after-hours alcohol ordinance is needed to address a “sizable loophole” that has resulted in “persistent” public nuisance issues citywide, but as Doan, cofounder of the Plumhouse Social Club in the city, read through the proposal and dug deeper into it, he felt the characterization of the situation was unfair. He also realized that it could negatively impact his business and others like it.

“I was taken aback when I read it, and I read the reasoning behind it,” Doan told KSL.com.

It inspired him to fight back, leading to an online petition he launched on Monday. He argues the proposal is “redundant and overbroad,” and that it could create “cultural and economic harm,” especially for those who comply with existing nuisance laws and other related codes. It calls on the Salt Lake City Council to reject the measure and work with businesses and others to create “reasonable policies that balance safety with cultural freedom.”

He’s already gained over 8,300 signatures by Friday afternoon, as it has resonated with other businesses and their patrons who say the new code would also impact them.

Improving safety or overreaching?

Salt Lake City’s administrative office requested the code, which would ban alcohol consumption “in common areas of commercial and nonresidential properties” between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Fines of $500 to $1,000, and business license suspensions are possible at businesses where multiple violations are discovered.

It was proposed in response to an increase in early-morning police service calls at businesses hosting “private parties,” per the city.

“There really is a pretty sizable loophole right here that they’ve found,” said Salt Lake City Police Deputy Chief Bill Manzanares, during a presentation of the request to the City Council on Sept. 9.

Those who organize and attend the events argue that they’ve been unfairly lumped in with troublemakers like the New Yorker nightclub, which was shut down in 2023 before its owners were charged as part of an investigation, or the “unruly” house parties near the University of Utah that prompted a different ordinance that the city approved last month.

Doan, who is also a lawyer by trade, says his business does not sell alcohol, but it does allow private members to bring in their own drinks. There are security measures in place, and he says his business has never had any serious issues.

“It seems very, very specifically targeted from, at least from a legal perspective,” he said. “I mean, it’s an overall ban of something you can do 20 other hours of the day. … If it wasn’t so serious, it would be laughable, how different we are.”

Blaq Void, EDM Elevated and Fervor are among the businesses that have spoken out against the proposal through social media, encouraging patrons to sign the petition. They fear that the measure threatens music and cultural nightlife scenes, as well as unique safe spaces for diverse communities.

“This isn’t crime: It’s culture. It’s a movement, and we can’t let it get erased,” owners of Blaq Void wrote in a post, adding that they’ve never had a shooting, stabbing, drug overdose or citation for illegally selling alcohol in seven years of operation.

Many of these venues offer shared spaces for late-night shift workers and younger adults, Doan says. His venue is geared more toward electronic music fans, supporting local artists; some focus more on LGBTQ communities.

We will propose potential alternatives, but … it’s kind of up to the city on what they feel like their best-case solution is.

–Thinh Doan, Plumhouse Social Club

The measure, he adds, could move nightlife scenes further underground to places without safety measures in place, potentially defeating its purpose. He thinks his business could operate regardless of the ordinance, but he’s not so sure about other compliant vendors — or industries that benefit from later crowds.

“It just doesn’t really solve the real problems, and it has a lot of collateral damage,” he said.

Council to postpone vote?