ATHENS– On Friday, June 19 at 5:00pm The Square Arts & Entertainment District will open in Downtown Athens!
The Athens City Council voted unanimously at the June 8th City Council meeting to designate a portion of downtown Athens as an entertainment district. The Square Arts & Entertainment District will extend for approximately a block on each side of the Limestone County Courthouse.
Athens Main Street Director, Tere Richardson says “We had been working with the Mayor and
Athens Main Street Director, Tere Richardson
City Council for six months to evaluate establishing an entertainment district for Athens. We felt this would be a great way to not only increase attendance at our festivals and events, but also help our Downtown Restaurants. When the COVID-19 crisis hit, our restaurants needed immediate help. Curbside pickup and outdoor dining helped but they were missing the revenue from alcohol sales. Now, patrons that want to be outside can purchase their beverages and walk around enjoying our beautiful Square and shops.”
The opening of the entertainment district will coincide with Fridays After Five and the Summer Concert Series in Downtown. Shops will stay open late with in-store specials. There will be food trucks. In addition, Limestone County Tourism will sponsor a free outdoor concert featuring Tomcat and Bark the Dawg, from 7:00pm – 9:00pm.
City Attorney, Shane Black explained, “Designating the area as an entertainment district will allow patrons who purchase alcohol from one of the licensed sellers on The Square to take the beverage outside the seller’s building and walk around with it, provided they stay within the district.”
Richardson says a few rules to remember are, in order to exit the premise with an alcoholic beverage, the beverage must be in a blue cup designated for the purpose, no more than two containers may be taken outside an establishment by any one person at a time, a beverage from one licensed establishment cannot be taken into another licensed establishment, and no alcoholic beverages brought from outside the district will be allowed.
The district will be delineated by sidewalk graphics identifying the beginning and ending of the district. See below for graphic.
Richardson says, “Our restaurant and shop owners are excited for the opening of the district. Feedback from the public has been extremely positive and the opening much anticipated. We appreciate the Mayor and City Council for continuing to support steps toward improving the economic vitality of Downtown Athens.”
Media Release/Tere Richardson
Executive Director
Athens Main Street
