DeKALB | When the lights went out on 50-cent drafts last September, no one knew the effects it would have.

Fatty’s Pub and Grille, 1312 W. Lincoln Highway, has replaced 50-cent draft night with 80-cent draft night, but changes are obvious in the atmosphere of the night.

“Before, there was some personality on the nights; now they’re all the same,” said Jeff Dobie, owner of Fatty’s Pub and Grille.

Fifty-cent draft night used to be a night to go out with friends for a cheap time and see people they do not get to see on weekends. Dobie said it was not a binge-drinking night, just a fun night in the middle of the week.

Dobie said he has seen a drop in draft sales and had to cut back on wait staff.

He said the decision has really hurt the staff, comprised of mostly students, more than the establishment.

Andy Myers, a bouncer at Fatty’s, has noticed a decrease in his tips from 50-cent draft night compared to current Tuesday nights. Previously he was taking home about $15 that night and now he only takes home between $5 and $7.

Fatty’s has also cut back on its bouncers. Where it previously had three bouncers on a Tuesday night, now it is down to two, but often cut down to one if it’s slow.

“We fight over shifts now a little bit,” Myers said.

Waitresses at Fatty’s have not really noticed a decrease in their tips, but the amount of shifts and the earlier a shift gets cut has changed, said Liz Cornwell, a Fatty’s waitress.

“I feel like Tuesdays have gotten slower,” Cornwell said. “I don’t know if it’s because of the weather, but it’s definitely slower. And people still ask if we have 50-cent draft night.”

Fatty’s regulars still come in Tuesday nights, but it seems as though the college students are being more picky about where they are going, basing it on specials, said Cheryl Newman, a manager and bartender at Fatty’s.

The change in beer and liquor prices were increased in September. Changes were proposed by the liquor commission as a way to curb over-consumption, according to a Northern Star article, published on Aug. 28, 2006.

“I have not heard anything negative toward it,” said Cory Warren, deputy liquor commissioner. “Business owners have been in compliance with it and I have not had any communication from any of the business owners that this is negatively impacting their business.”