The DUI checkpoints now staged across the city on many nights have been touted by law enforcement for successfully getting intoxicated drivers off the road. And it appears they have been discouraging Tapatios to imbibe. Sales at Guadalajara’s restaurants are down 40 to 50 percent from the same time last year, said Juan Jose Tamayo Davalos, the president of Jalisco’s delegation of CANIRAC, the Camara Nacional de la Industria de Restaurantes y Alimentos Condimentados.
Tamayo Davalos said he noticed a restaurant on Avenida Chapultepec and another on Avenida Lopez Cotilla closed at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night. The reason the establishments were dark—even in a popular nightspot for youngsters—was because they had no customers, Tamayo Davalos said.
Under the new law, those who knock back as few as three drinks could face fines if they run into the checkpoints, which are set up on city avenues between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Those who are more intoxicated can expect to spend some time in jail.The restaurant chamber fully supports law enforcers’ efforts to save lives, however they’re looking to mitigate the effects the law has had on its affiliated businesses.
“What we propose is to modify the logistics of the operation,” Tamayo Davalos said.
The Chamber is working with Jalisco’s Secretariat de Movilidad to improve public transportation and taxi services at night. Another idea is to get into restaurants devices that can detect how much alcohol is in a person’s system. That way, patrons will know if it’s safe for them to drive after they’d had a drink.
The idea is to allow Guadalajara residents to celebrate at a bar or restaurant without breaking the law or putting others at risk.
While the chamber maintains the DUI checkpoints have put a dent in holiday sales, Tamayo Davalos emphasized the industry still has positive prospects for the coming year. The organization is working on turning Guadalajara into a destination for gastronomic tourism, in other words a place where people can come and enjoy high-quality food and drink.
In late October, Guadalajara hosted a session of the International Organization of Gastronomy, Hospitality and Tourism, which brought together distinguished chefs from throughout Latin America. Tamayo Davalos said his organization is working to continue efforts to build Guadalajara’s reputation as a place for fine dining, including creating a classification restaurants can acquire that will show they meet certain standards.
In the coming year, the chamber also plans to take advantage of Expo Guadalajara as a potential meeting place for chefs and others in the hospitality industry.