People will soon be able to enjoy an alcoholic drink while walking through downtown ɫ.
The ɫ City Council voted 4-1 to approve a social district in downtown ɫ that would allow people to buy alcoholic drinks at participating businesses and carry and drink the beverage outside of the establishment within set boundaries.
Councilman Chris Hawkins voted against the measure, citing safety and liability concerns.
The district, which Main Street Manager Mackenzie McGinnis said she hopes will open in early August, covers downtown ɫ’s main streets. It will be open daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
One district spans Sterling and Green streets from where the streets merge on either end of downtown. It also runs west to King Street and has areas covering blocks between Avery Avenue and East Union Street.
Council members approved this map for the social district in downtown ɫ at their meeting Monday night.
City of ɫ
Participating businesses will have window signage showing if they are participating in the social district and to what extent. Those signs include:
Beverages welcome
Sold here and welcomed here
Sold here and no outside beverage welcomed
No beverages
Some public areas within the social district also will be part of the district, including the courthouse square and the alley off Sterling Street near Toasted and Rolled.
Signs inside participating businesses will tell patrons what is allowed in the social district.
All beverages will be in cups with stickers that show the name of the business that sold the drink, and cups will have a place to write the time and date the drink was sold.
Boundary signs will be posted around the social district to make sure participants know where drinks are not allowed.
Anyone hosting a special event within the social district can apply to participate in it.
McGinnis gave a presentation at Monday night’s council meeting about the proposal. Neighboring cities like Hickory and Lenoir already have social districts.
She said Mount Airy has reported a 30% increase in retail sales across their social district, and breweries have seen a 42% sales increase. Hickory has reported a 16.8% jump in downtown core traffic over three years after implementing a social district and other revitalization projects, McGinnis said.
McGinnis said the district’s opening will depend on how long it takes to get flyers posted and other materials needed for the district.
Chrissy Murphy is a staff writer and can be reached at cmurphy@morganton.com or at 828-432-8941.
