NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Nashville social gathering bus house owners say they’ve already had a number of cancellations for 2022, due to new rules on the best way.
They are saying the brand new adjustments have some second-guessing a visit to Music Metropolis and that has an affect on extra than simply their business.
Parris McKinley Jr. owns Excessive Expertise Nashville. He solely simply began operating the enterprise full-time in June however says enterprise has been booming since 2019.
“Excessive did very effectively and now we’ve got Nashville Shuttle too,” McKinley stated.
Now comes his largest problem thus far. Metro Metropolis Council voted to restrict alcohol consumption to solely enclosed social gathering automobiles.
Metropolis leaders hoped by regulating these automobiles, they may reduce down on noise, congestion, and accidents.
“My entire coronary heart simply dropped as a result of that’s a giant distinction to our enterprise and what we do,” McKinley stated.
He can convert his bus if want be however says friends keep away from this any likelihood they’ll. He’s had a number of cancellations for the top of the 12 months and the start of 2022.
McKinley says he hopes metropolis leaders perceive that these adjustments make a distinction for extra than simply these behind the wheel.
“So it’s not solely that you simply simply take one small a part of an organization. You’re taking away from a variety of different folks,” McKinley stated.
Recording artist Lindsay Lawler owns The Nashville Bachelorette. From the second you land to the day you permit, she books occasions in your total keep.
She says virtually each consumer requests a celebration bus and that’s the place she turns to McKinley. She hasn’t had any cancellations on her finish however feels that now it’s solely a matter of time.
“To take that portion out of the itinerary, we’ll must fully reshape what we do,” Lawler stated.
From the eating places to bars and even t-shirt distributors they work with, it’s all a part of a Nashville community they hope goes nowhere quickly.
“We’ve all of the bars downtown. That’s not going away, however why not develop and thrive? Extra persons are coming to Nashville, due to this fact we want extra issues to do,” Lawler stated.
McKinley would be the first to inform you that the expertise is safer than any bar crawl round Broadway. He desires metropolis council to think about that some bus firms already comply with the principles, however alcohol restrictions may put them out of enterprise.
Alcohol restrictions go into impact on December 1. In the meantime, different restrictions associated to being licensed with the town take impact in April.
