Sip and stroll program becomes permanent in downtown Fayetteville
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Fayetteville's Downtown Social District is here to stay.
The city council voted to make the program permanent on Monday, allowing people to sip on alcohol to-go during special hours.
One business on Hay Street told ABC11 that this is a major opportunity, as the Downtown Social District has been a boon for their sales.
"We had people asking if we did to-go cocktails before we did it and now they're like, 'Ooh, Fayetteville's with it now.' So they were really excited about it. And they're still shocked that we still do it, so I'm excited to tell them that it's going to be permanent," said Paige Powell, a manager for Winterbloom Tea.
With the district becoming permanent, customers can continue to buy and drink alcohol while walking around the Hay Street area until 10 pm. City council voted to solidify the effort 9 to 1 on Monday. Cool Spring Downtown District, the organization running the program, said it's brought a minimum of $150,000 in extra earnings for participating businesses.
"I'm just grateful that it is sticking around because it's really helped," Powell said. "Customers are really happy about it, the people really like it, and we love making the people happy."
Customers should keep in mind that they can only drink alcohol from one of the participating businesses. They also can only drink outside within the social district in historic Fayetteville.
