Durham has a new drinking district in the works. Where the open container area will be

To-go cocktails, beer and wine will soon be allowed outdoors at The Streets at Southpoint, when the mall unveils Durham’s second alcohol-friendly social district later this summer.

Southpoint hopes to launch the social district in August, according to Agnes Stevens, a spokesperson for the shopping center in southern Durham.

Signs declaring “Open Container Area” have been installed on the perimeter of Southpoint’s outdoor area, though Stevens said they are now covered to prevent confusion until the launch date.

The designation will apply to the outdoor area only.

“Drinks cannot be consumed within the interior of the mall,” the signs read. “Participating restaurants will serve you in a designated plastic cup and you are free to hang out and socialize around the area.”

A sticker on the sign suggests the open-container area will be in effect during mall hours and 30 minutes after the mall closes.

Social districts becoming popular

Dozens of social districts have popped up in North Carolina since 2021, when the state passed legislation allowing them to help drum up business for bars recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic

Durham , Raleigh , Charlotte and Cary have them, as well as smaller locales like Wilson and Hickory.

Downtown Durham’s social district — branded as the Bullpen — has been operating since December 2022.

The Glass Jug Beer Lab is one of more than 90 businesses selling drinks to-go in downtown Durham. Its taproom, which opens onto the lawn of Central Park, is where a Thursday walking club meets to grab to-go beers for the stroll.

“Our location is a great spot to take advantage of (the social district),” co-owner Chris Creech said. “It’s not a huge, business-changing percentage, but it’s beers we probably wouldn’t have otherwise sold.”

In the past year, Creech said the percentages of alcoholic drinks sold as Bullpen to-go drinks ranged from an average of 5% in the winter months, steadily increasing as the weather warmed to 15% in April nearly 20% in June.

Downtown Durham Inc., which runs the Bullpen, said 60% of businesses surveyed in early 2024 reported a sales increase since the social district started.

Southpoint secured a state ABC permit months ago, Stevens said. It’s technically a “common area entertainment permit,” another designation included in the 2021 social district law.

Research Triangle Park is also exploring a social district, announcing last year they hoped to launch one in Hub RTP in late 2024.

Creech said the more social districts, the better.

“It educates the customer, and it also just gets people out, and walking around, and hopping between places,” he said.

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