- The social district permits customers to purchase alcoholic drinks from participating businesses and consume them in common outdoor areas.
- Local businesses report seeing new visitors from outside the community since the district opened.
- WATCH: Charlotte's social district attracts new visitors to downtown businesses
I visited downtown Charlotte to see if the social district has brought new business to town since it opened in the fall.
The outdoor area allows people to buy an adult beverage from participating businesses and drink it while walking or sitting in certain common areas outside of the establishment, or take it down the sidewalk to some other restaurants and bars.
"Lately we've had quite a bit of people come in, from all over that haven't been here," Eaton Pub and Grille employee Hannah Salbaugh said.
Salbaugh tells me she continues to hope the district will drive more people to town and believes it's been a success. She says it's already brought in more business and visitors.
"Festivals and the car show, we did really good, were able to can beer, so we do a lot of that," Eaton Pub and Grille employee Hannah Salbaugh said.
"We can only hope that it gets busier in the upcoming summer months," Eaton Pub and Grille employee Hannah Salbaugh said.
While downtown, I met Charlotte neighbor Don Sovey, who thinks that in a few years the district can really develop into something special.
"This is a young district here, and has a lot of potential to go forward," Charlotte neighbor Don Sovey said.
For Salbaugh, she is hopeful this will continue to impact the community in a great way with more festivals to come. She thinks business really gets a boost when you combine the social district with a festival in town, and Charlotte has dozens of festivals each year.
"Charlotte has frontier days coming up, we would expect it's going to get really busy," Grille employee Hannah Salbaugh said.
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