PINEVILLE, N.C. — Pineville's first social district officially launched on Tuesday, allowing people to drink alcohol in certain areas while in public.
The district is open from Noon until 10 p.m. for people 21 and older. Participating businesses have green, blue and red stickers on their windows.
Social districts have been all the rage lately, with communities across the Charlotte area allowing open containers in certain areas to promote local businesses and foot traffic. Charlotte's first social district opened in Plaza Midwood last month. Other cities and towns with social districts include Davidson, Hickory, Kannapolis and Mooresville.
The Plaza Midwood social district has stickers posted at participating businesses, with certain colors signifying if to-go alcoholic beverages can be bought there or if outside drinks are allowed.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a law allowing social districts in September 2021. State lawmakers said the legislation was an attempt to modernize North Carolina's alcohol laws.
Taking a stroll down downtown Pineville, Sarah Longstreet put out the final touches. She's the mastermind behind the Pineville social district.
"I pitched this to the town mayor and the director of planning and zoning," Longstreet said.
She said the area has changed quite a bit. Five years ago, the main road was lined with vacant storefronts, but as more people move in and the area continues to grow, the social district will enhance that push.
"The main purpose of it is to drive traffic on Main Street," Longstreet said. "A mom or dad can go get a beer or a glass of wine and then take their kids to go get ice cream.”
Allen Jackson had the same thinking as Longstreet. They both own non-alcohol-serving businesses and are in the middle of the district. Jackson owns Slicers and said he's benefiting from the foot traffic.
Kit Burkholder, the owner of Kit's Trackside Crafts said this is a big step forward.
"Make people go oh, instead of coming to Fort Mill, spending the day in Waxhaw, Plaza, Noda, why don’t we go over to Pineville," Burkholder said.
Two years ago Cornelius passed a social district. At the time, business owner Kas Matos thought it would be a hit and be great for business. Two years later, the buzz has grown.
"People are loving it, people are getting more used to it," Matos said. "More and more people are hearing about it and as more towns get their own it’s common. We've made a lot of money from it and word of mouth."
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