DURHAM, N.C. — Drinking in the streets is becoming the norm in more North Carolina cities.
What You Need To Know
- A social district allows for open containers in certain boundaries within a city
- Downtown Durham Inc. has created a proposal for designated hours and regulations
- Beverages must be purchased from participating bars and restaurants
It's a part of municipalities' efforts to increase foot traffic in their main street areas by implementing "social districts," which allows people to take their beer, wine or liquor drink to-go and sip it while walking around.
Durham is the latest city to push for a social district in their downtown loop.
"We've done a couple of surveys, businesses along the streets and public survey, overwhelmingly it's been positive," Nicole Thompson, president of Downtown Durham Inc., said.
The proposal would allow for open containers purchased from participating bars and restaurants from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. in designated boundaries of downtown. That boundary would extend from the Golden Belt Campus to Duke's East Campus and from the Historic Athletic Park to the Durham Bulls stadium.
Businesses would be required to serve to-go drinks in specific recyclable containers.
While the survey that Downtown Durham Inc. put out resulted in 80% of people in favor of a social district, there were still some concerns.
"A lot of concern that it's gonna be Mardi Gras 24/7, that's not at all what we anticipate. We have very strict hours that this would happen, and we don't have that vibe in downtown Durham," Thompson said.
Alley Twenty Six falls within the boundaries of the proposed social district.
"The devil's in the details. It all depends on the specifics. Clearly no one down here wants it to turn into New Orleans, Burbon Street specifically," Shannon Healy, the owner of Alley Twenty Six, said.
If done correctly, Healy says it could be good for business.
"What we have here in downtown Durham right now is pretty special. We'd like something to enhance it but not something that will change it demonstratively," Healy said.
People come to Healy's restaurant for the artistic craft cocktails and ambiance.
"We need to figure out how to incorporate that business into our business, that doesn't depreciate the quality of experience for the folks who are actually here to be here," Healy said.
Downtown Durham Inc. will present the proposal for the social district to Durham City Council, who will then vote to approve or deny it.
The City of Raleigh's social district pilot program will begin Aug 15. Other cities considering social districts include Winston-Salem, Wilmington, Charlotte, Waynesville, High Point, New Bern and Albemarle.