COLORADO SPRINGS — While still trying to process the recent tragedy at Club Q, bars in downtown Colorado Springs are amping up security ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.
The day before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights of the year for the bar and restaurant industry. Geoff Weichelt, the operations manager for a string of bars on Tejon Street downtown, said safety is at the front of their minds. He said they're increasing security personnel inside bars and outside to roam the block.
"Between inside and outside we'll have somewhere between 18 and 22 people," Weichelt said. "Not only do we want people to be safe, we want them to feel safe. And that presence of security, that safety presence, is a big deterrent."
He said security will continue using radio communication between bars and using shared ID scanning apps that keep records of problem customers.
"If we have problem personnel at one, we can communicate that, you know, to everybody else on the block," he said. "If somebody has a problem in one location, and they get banned on the app, it'll ban them from all down from all those locations."
Nicholas Albert, bar manager at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company, said the industry has been shaken by the recent tragedy, especially since businesses are closely knit.
"We're absolutely on edge. I think the whole community is," he said. "We're all connected in this community, you know, everybody is. Friends by word of mouth, and then by regularity here."
Albert said the restaurant has had discussions with employees about safety since the tragedy but staying vigilant as a business downtown is nothing new.
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