SANTA MONICA (CNS) – Santa Monica’s Entertainment Zone, which allows for outdoor drinking of alcohol along part of the city’s Third Street Promenade, opens today with a soft launch.
Adults of legal drinking age will eventually be able to purchase a drink from a participating, licensed business and consume it outside between 11 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The soft launch has limited hours.
The outdoor drinking must be done within the entertainment zone boundaries and participants must display a city-approved wristband distributed by the licensed businesses.
The city council approved the zone in May as part of a broader effort to juice business on the promenade, an area where blocks are closed to street traffic.
”Initially proposed just for events, the vision for the Entertainment Zone has updated hours and activations to allow brunch guests and daytime visitors to partake … while they enjoy Santa Monica’s beautiful weather and outdoor entertainment,” according to a city statement. ”The Entertainment Zone will be in full swing during the annual Pride on the Promenade event, Santa Monica’s premier Pride celebration on Saturday, June 21, from 2-7 p.m.”
Businesses participating in the scheme include: 1212, Barney’s Beanery, Cabo Cantina, Casa Martin, Holey Moley and Pickle Pop.”
City leaders say Santa Monica’s Entertainment Zone is the first in Southern California and was made possible by state Senate Bill 969, which allows local governments to create designated outdoor areas where open containers of alcoholic beverages can be consumed if bought from participating restaurants and bars.
”Santa Monica is continuing to re-imagine the experience on the Third Street Promenade,’ Mayor Lana Negrete said in a statement. ”As a small business owner myself, I can say from experience that a rising tide lifts all boats, and bringing interest and vitality to our downtown will be felt across our city’s business community as a whole.”
For the soft opening, the zone will operate from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Entertainment Zone participants must be wearing a city-approved wristband distributed by a participating business and abide by the Entertainment Zone rules.
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