Parts of
Raleigh’s Seaboard Station will allow for open alcohol consumption after city
leaders approved a social district on Tuesday for the area.
Seaboard
Station’s Sip n’ Stroll takes effect on Nov. 14. Within the designated area,
people can openly consume alcohol sold by certain ABC-permitted businesses
daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
The boundaries
of this social district are West Franklin Street between Semart Drive and
Halifax Street and Seaboard Avenue between Semart Drive and Halifax Steet.
A social
district is a defined area where alcoholic beverages, sold by an establishment
licensed for the sale of alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption, may
be consumed.
On Tuesday, the
Raleigh City Council
voted 6-2 in favor of the Seaboard Station Sip n’ Stroll program. City
council members Megan Patton and Christina Jones voted against the proposal.
City council
members didn’t have any discussion during Tuesday’s meeting about Seaboard Station’s social
district.
City of Raleigh
Special Events senior manager Whitney Schoenfeld presented the proposed social
district on Tuesday before the city council. She explained how the proposed
boundary expanded compared to when city council members last saw the proposal
in September.
“What’s changed
is the inclusion of the 111 Seaboard [Avenue] business and the southern edge of
[another] building [on the south end of the district],” Schoenfeld said.
The
social district will not include the Duke Power Station or William Peace
University. Businesses in the area can choose to opt in or out of the program
at their discretion.
Hoffman and
Associates, who owns and operates Seaboard Station, requested
the designation on Sept. 16 from the Raleigh City Council.
In April, Raleigh’s Village
District launched its Sip n’ Shop social district.
In August 2022,
the city launched its first
Sip n’ Stroll program in the heart of downtown Raleigh. The city expanded downtown Sip ‘n Stroll to add more of the
Warehouse District in August 2023.
Related: Drink up: The 10 most Instagram-worthy cocktails in the Raleigh area
Previous: Explore the best bars in Raleigh: Top spots to unwind