Springdale’s city council on Tuesday approved a downtown entertainment district, becoming the latest city to take advantage of a 2019 law that allows possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages outside of bars and restaurants.
The Outdoor Dining District will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week along part of West Emma Avenue. Customers will be able to carry and consume alcoholic beverages throughout the district, in designated Outdoor Dining District cups.
“This vote represents momentum for all that we are striving to accomplish for downtown,” Downtown Springdale Executive Director Jill Dabbs said. “The Outdoor Dining District will be a catalyst to increase the number of lunches eaten in downtown. It will be a hook for recruiting and attracting new restaurants and businesses to downtown for a more robust dinner scene. It will help art activations to be more successful. It will help people discover what an amazing destination downtown Springdale is and becoming for the future.”
The move comes as more Arkansas cities take advantage of Act 812, approved last year by the Arkansas Legislature. Other cities that have created entertainment districts include North Little Rock, Mountain Home, Eureka Springs, Fayetteville and Little Rock, which now has zones in the River Market and the SoMa district.
North Little Rock and Springdale have emphasized “outdoor dining” in the creation of their districts, looking to spur more restaurant activity at a time when eateries are struggling amid COVID-19 restrictions. In North Little Rock’s Argenta district, city leaders think outdoor dining will better facilitate social distancing.
In Springdale, participating businesses will have signs in their windows indicating participation in the district. More details and rules are available here.
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