BURLINGTON, N.C. (WGHP) — Burlington is now the latest city in the Triad to launch a social district in its downtown.
For the entirety of Burlington’s existence, you had to sit in a restaurant to get a beer.
Now you can walk around with any type of alcoholic beverage thanks to the newly implemented social district.
Downtown Burlington Manager Erin Nettles says they got the idea after several neighboring cities launched their own social districts.
And like those cities, Burlington does have boundaries that take up seven blocks of downtown.
“It goes down Front Street, Spring Street, Main Street and a little bit of Maple Street,” Nettles said.
You can’t walk into every place with an alcoholic beverage, though.
On the outside of buildings, you’ll see either a green “beverages welcome” sign or a red “no beverages please” sign.
Ted Gross the owner of the Mini Dingo has the green one outside his door and says he’s excited for the social district to not only bring more people into his small business but also his competition.
“It’s an opportunity for people … to come down and grab a beer and find out what else is around in our neighborhood. Whether they’re going to the bookstore for the first time or the record store for the first time, It’s an easy way for us to work with our neighboring business without putting in the extra work,” Gross said.
It’s a statement long-time Burlington local Savannah Jones wholeheartedly agrees with and hopes visitors to the area will with fall in love downtown Burlington like she has.
“We … are getting more and more traction in Burlington. We have a lot of growth, and we have a lot of good businesses down here, and I think this’ll be a way for businesses to appreciate it even more,” Jones said.
The social district will run every Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m.
