How Plaza-Midwood's new social district will work
Businesses prepare for Charlotte's first social district; It's all about the steel cup
The following article appeared in the Feb. 28, 2024, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
With steel cups of alcohol in hand, about 50 people are the first to check out Plaza-Midwood’s new drinking zone; slow public roll-out expected to start this weekend
People attending a social district preview event get ready to walk with their drinks from the restaurant Dish to nearby Legion Brewing (left). To legally walk outdoors with a drink, customers must drink from 16-ounce stainless steel cups that cost $8 from participating bars and restaurants.
by Tony Mecia
Neighborhood leaders in Plaza-Midwood say that they expect Charlotte’s first social district to be up and running as soon as this weekend.
But they say don’t expect it to be a booze-fest with revelers packing the streets while legally drinking alcohol. That’s because they’ve taken steps to limit the number of people who can participate initially, and just 12 bars and restaurants will offer to-go cups in the social district’s first phase.
The key to the entire operation — and to being able to drink legally outside of bars and restaurants — is using the official reusable 16-ounce stainless steel cup. It retails for $8 at participating sites, not including the drink inside it.
“Maybe we don't need everyone to show up first, so the cups will be somewhat limited,” said Phillip Gussman of the Plaza Midwood Merchants Association. “If you're not the first 50 or so people at a particular bar or restaurant getting a cup, you might not get a cup. It’s a little bit of a slow roll. … But it’s happening. And here we are.”
Gussman spoke to more than 50 people at a social district preview event Tuesday night co-hosted by the Plaza-Midwood Merchants Association, The Charlotte Ledger and CLT Public Relations. At the restaurant Dish, local leaders discussed how the district will work and what they see as its advantages, and people who attended received the cups and then walked with their drinks to Legion Brewing, a tenth of a mile away, in a test run for both establishments.
“Congratulations on being the first people to drink openly on the sidewalks!” Gussman said.
The Plaza Midwood Merchants Association has prepared easy-to-understand diagrams of how the social district will work. (Courtesy of Plaza Midwood Merchants Association)
While dozens of other communities in North Carolina have started social districts following the 2021 passage of a state law allowing them, the process to start the first one in Charlotte has been slow-going. The city developed a thorough 15-step process that places the responsibility on businesses and neighborhood associations.
A few of the ideas discussed at Tuesday’s event include: