The lifting of a citywide curfew Monday night brought a smile to Dave Miller as he looked down the bar inside Kaldi's Coffee House in Over-the-Rhine.

        The owner saw people inside for the first time since Wednesday afternoon.

        He had built a plywood wall — 23 sheets long — in front of his store. “Plywood is cheaper than a half a piece of glass,” Mr. Miller said. “So it's just nice to be able to look out the front door. For the average business down here, it's been devastating.”

        He's just as concerned about future business.

        “I'm just afraid that there is a perception that it's dangerous down here,” he said.

        Across town, Joe and Teri Parker walked their dogs up Observatory Avenue toward Ault Park. It was the first nighttime walk for Annie and Lucy since Wednesday.

        The dogs didn't seem to care, but the Parkers did.

        “It felt restrictive,” Teri Parker said of the curfew. “It was hard, but necessary.”

        Tricia Baum of Mount Lookout, had been doing things earlier in the day: eating dinner, running errands, hanging out in Hyde Park Square. Monday, Ms. Baum strolled into Zip's Cafe and ate a leisurely dinner well after dark.

        “It's nice not to have to rush,” Ms. Baum said.

        Juanita Milner, 19, waited for the bus in front of the public library on Vine Street and said she was going to do the same thing she's done the last four nights — nothing. “I'm just going back to the house,” Ms. Milner, of Mount Airy, said.

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