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Social district coming to downtown Burlington

The social district will officially open on Friday, Sept. 22.

BURLINGTON, N.C. — Burlington is the latest Triad city to bring a social district to its area.

People will be allowed to take alcoholic drinks into designated public areas starting at the end of September.

Downtown Burlington manager, Erin Nettles, said the city is ready for the new social district. 

"We thought the social district would be very exciting for downtown and the entire community. We are hoping it brings people out, gives them a new reason to come downtown, to stay downtown, to shop, to explore what’s here, to enjoy the outdoor areas,” Nettles said. 

If you remember, other cities across the Triad started social districts within the last year.

The city of Burlington has been able to learn from those cities' successes. 

"We’ve been watching it roll out in other cities and have learned from their feedback and their experiences, so we took that to create what we did, which is to design it around our events on the weekends,” Nettles explained. 

So far, seven restaurants will be participating.

Burlington Beer Works is one of them. 

"I think it’s huge. We have people coming in off of the train and from other towns just stopping through. They like the downtown, they think it’s cute. Hopefully, it grows a little more. It definitely has the opportunity to do so. So getting people to go around and check out those places, it’s a way to expand the city, and expand the atmosphere, and the community as well," said Beer Works manager, Josh Prince. 

A nearby business, eager for more foot traffic, is Persnickety Books on South Main Street.

"When we talk about the social district, it’s really about how we are creating a more cohesive environment for people to experience downtown,” said bookstore owner and former Burlington mayor, Ian Baltutis. 

The 7-block social district will include Front Street, Main Street, Spring Street, and Davis Street.

The social district opens September 22 with a kick-off event. After that, it will run every Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. 

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