Durham opens new social district at Southpoint mall. How to get a to-go drink
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- What should I know? The Streets at Southpoint mall will soon allow visitors to enjoy open containers of alcohol outdoors.
- What should I share with family and friends? Look for the start next month, with beer, cocktails and wine allowed outside the enclosed portion of the mall.
- Questions? Contact reporter Mary Helen Moore at mmoore@newsobserver.com
To-go cocktails, beer and wine are now allowed outdoors at The Streets at Southpoint, with the mall unveiling Durham’s second alcohol-friendly social district on Friday.
The designation applies to both the outdoor area and inside the mall, a spokesperson said this week, a change from the plans teased earlier this summer.
“The Streets at Southpoint is the premier shopping center in the Triangle because we always strive to bring customers new ways to shop, socialize and enjoy gathering,” general manager Patrick Anderson said in a news release.
Signs declaring “Open Container Area” were installed earlier this summer on the perimeter of Southpoint’s outdoor area.
“Participating restaurants will serve you in a designated plastic cup and you are free to hang out and socialize around the area.,” the signs state.
The open-container area will be in effect during mall hours and 30 minutes after the mall closes, though some stores may choose to prohibit beverages inside.
Pick up drinks from four participating restaurants:
- California Pizza Kitchen
- Firebirds
- Co.
- Uncle Julio’s
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.
This story was originally published July 17, 2024 at 12:19 PM.
