While Carbondale bars on South Illinois Avenue will be closed during Halloween weekend, employees of bars that are not on the Strip say their establishments will conduct business as usual.

Some Carbondale bar owners said they believe their business will be minimally affected by competing bars on the Strip being closed from Oct. 27 at 2 a.m. to Oct. 29 at 2 a.m.

According to a city ordinance, bars from Walnut Street to Grand Avenue and from University Avenue to the railroad tracks will be closed during Halloween weekend.

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Anna Karayiannis, part owner of Pinch Penny Pub, 700 E. Grand, said her establishment expects a normal weekend.

We are anticipating slightly more people than normal, she said. We run pretty much to capacity on weekends anyway.

Karyiannis said Pinch Penny will not have any type of Halloween activities or specials because she wanted to support the city in fighting the Halloween image.

We wanted to be public spirited and not encourage Halloween celebrations, she said. We didn’t want to go against what the city is doing.

Rob Saunders, manager of Mugsy McGuire’s, 1620 W. Main, said he believes his establishment might be a little busier than usual over Halloween weekend.

I think a lot of kids will head out of town, he said. It’s up in the air. We could be really busy or we could be dead.

Dania Atkinson, a bartender at the Cellar, located near South Illinois Avenue, said that business probably will experience an increase in attendance.

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Atkinson said she thought closing the bars on the Strip was a good idea, but she said the city should have arranged the closings differently.

It’s probably a good idea to close them, she said. I think they should be open until at least midnight. Then they (the city) should clear the Strip so things don’t get out of hand.

The Cellar has a Halloween party planned on Oct. 28 for anyone 21 years of age or older.

All establishments on the Strip which serve alcohol but are not classified as bars, such as El Greco, 516 S. Illinois, and Booby’s Beer Garden, 406 S. Illinois, will not be allowed to serve liquor. Also Old Town Liquors, 514 S. Illinois, will not be permitted to sell alcohol.