Mexican bar Wall Street Cantina forced to close at midnight on Cinco de Mayo while awaiting permit
Orlando bars must now have new permit
Wall Street Plaza draws a large crowd for its Cinco de Mayo party. However, the Wall Street Cantina, the only Mexican bar in the plaza, is one of several bars that still doesn't have its permit approved to stay open past midnight, with a new law going into effect this week.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Wall Street Plaza draws a large crowd for its Cinco de Mayo party.
However, the Wall Street Cantina, the only Mexican bar in the plaza, is one of several bars that still doesn't have its permit approved to stay open past midnight, with a new law going into effect this week.
According to the City of Orlando, as of Friday 67 businesses applied for the permit to stay open until 2 a.m., and 47 have been approved. That means on one of the biggest bar nights of the year, 20 were still waiting.
"It’s in the process," said Bosko Lazic, the owner of Wall Street Cantina. "We applied for all the paperwork, it just took a little longer."
Lazic said he would have to close the Wall Street Cantina at midnight. Luckily for him, his other bars on the plaza did get permits and can stay open until 2 a.m.
"It would be really frustrating if we had problems with all of our places," Lazic said. "We kind of dropped the ball with Cantina. We had some issues with our business license we have to resolve first."
While some are still sorting through the paperwork, the Orlando Hospitality Alliance believes the city will work with all the bar owners to get them approved.
"I think ultimately, the bar and nightclub owners and the city staff will work together to get through all of these applications," said Monica McCown, the vice president of the alliance.
The alliance says some bars can make tens of thousands of dollars between midnight and 2 a.m. on a night like Cinco de Mayo.