Anyone 18 and up may now be allowed in every downtown bar – as long as they’re willing to learn how to make a buttery nipple.

A Georgia Supreme Court decision may negate an Athens ordinance preventing people 18 to 20 years old from working in bars and clubs.

The court ruled Monday in favor of five underage Atlanta club workers who sued after a city ordinance would have cost them their jobs, deeming the ordinance unconstitutional.

The Atlanta ordinance is similar to an Athens-Clarke County ordinance. Because state rulings override city laws, this decision could overturn the Athens ordinance.

“We’re talking about putting thousands of people back to work,” said Alan Begner, attorney for the five women. “The city is probably quietly thanking me.”

Begner said the decision may affect more than just people looking for jobs.

“Customers have been not allowed in a night club if they’re under 21,” he said. “The striking of the whole law may allow customers back in, too.”

Paul DeGeorge, owner of two downtown bars – The Loft and Pauley’s Original Crepe Bar – said he was very excited about the implications of the decision.

“As an individual business owner, one of the most difficult things is to train new staff,” DeGeorge said Monday. “I guarantee you in the three years before the ordinance I’ve probably gone through 10 people, and in the few years since the ordinance I’ve gone through about three times that.”

DeGeorge said it takes about four months to train a new employee.

“You get somebody that’s 21 and up and you have them for maybe a year, if that, and then they move on,” he said. “You’re having to constantly retrain, constantly rehire.”

Corey Ripley, a former student and long-time employee of DeGeorge, said when the ordinance first passed he saw a lot of people lose their jobs.

“Our bars and a bunch of my buddies’ bars had to fire people,” the Athens native said. “We fired two. Our neighbors had to fire five or six people.”

Andrew Szymanski, a University alum from Topsfield, Mass., said he’s worked for DeGeorge for nearly four years.

“The big problem [with the ordinance] for us is the student base. Only 25 percent is over 21,” he said. “You lose so many potential employees.”

DeGeorge said he was one of the leading opponents when the ordinance was proposed in 2007.

“[Athens' city officials] completely ignored us and did what they wanted to do and now I hope this turns around and bites them in the ass a little bit,” he said.

Bill Berryman, attorney for Athens-Clarke County, said he’s looking into how the state Supreme Court decision will affect the Athens ordinance, which took effect Sept. 1, 2008.

“It does look like it will have an impact on the Athens-Clarke County ordinance,” he said.

“The idea behind [the ordinance] was for establishments that had door people. You would have a person who was 18 years old or 19 years old to make sure people were 21,” he said. “The police chief had concerns about that, that people would be susceptible to peer pressure.”

Berryman said the ordinance seemed to be having the desired effect of reducing underage admittance.

“We have this program where we send underage operatives in to try and buy alcohol – that’s something we’ve done for several years – and that has improved,” he said.

Lina Oviedo, a senior from Alpharetta and bartender at Raw, said she understood the reasons for the ordinance and thinks underage drinking could increase if it’s overturned.

“It will probably make a difference, just because if you have one person underage it will be easier for people to get into bars,” she said. “I feel like a lot of underage people drink in Athens, anyway.”

Szymanski, who works as a DJ at The Loft, said it isn’t fair to attribute the decline in underage admittance to bars entirely to the ordinance.

“I think the recession had more to do with them stopping. They just don’t have the money,” he said. “I don’t think anything will change.”