Business, city leaders excited for social district impact on economy downtown

LACONIA — Mayor Mike Bordes explored the city's new social district, a designated zone where patrons of restaurants and bars can enjoy an alcoholic drink outdoors, even on the sidewalks between businesses.

Rep. Bill Boyd (R-Merrimack) and Drew Cline, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, met Bordes at Defiant Records & Craft Beer on Thursday. Boyd is the the prime sponsor of the bill which allows Granite State towns and cities to create social districts.

Laconia is the first community in the state to adopt the practice, and city businesses took advantage of it over Memorial Day weekend.

By all accounts, it was a quiet weekend. City leaders agree the true litmus test will be when they see how the summer crowd reacts.

Bordes and Boyd think the district could be a big economic driver for downtown, allowing patrons of establishments serving alcohol to meander around, and do a little shopping while enjoying a beverage. Cline took it a step further, saying he thinks it will increase the overall quality of life in the area.

“We had this law in the books that is outdated, and preventing certain communities from growing, and also reducing the quality of life,” Cline said.

Cline said there are examples from around the world where people can carry a drink in a shopping area or downtown, and enjoy it without any issues. He said the goal is to not create a friction in the economy.

“The government shouldn’t get in the way, and tell you that you can’t do something that is perfectly safe.”

Southern example of success

The root of the social districting idea comes the mountain town of Hickory, North Carolina, where Cline said the downtown was struggling due to a number of factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic. Cline makes yearly visits, and last year, suddenly, there wasn’t a single vacant storefront.

“There were people walking by with beers, and I hadn’t seen that before,” Cline said. “I talked to the town and figured out what was going on. I thought that it was an interesting idea, and we did some research on it, and it turns out it is super popular around the country.”

Cline researched safety, and couldn’t find a police department that said there were problems, or a city that said there was an issue with trash. After hearing all positive things, including how it turned around a struggling community like Hickory, he wanted to bring it to the Granite State.

“The beauty of this is that municipalities get to decide whether to be a part of it or not.”

Cline said the fact community leaders decide when and where a social district takes place is key.

“There are some parts of the community where it would be appropriate, and some parts that are not,” Cline said. “We just love that flexibility.”

Bringing the idea to New Hampshire

Boyd has been coming to Laconia, with his wife, since 2003, before they were even married, and has seen baby steps in growth in the city for more than two decades. After Cline “put the bug in my ear,” he saw what a successful economic driver this could be.

Boyd adapted the legislative language from North Carolina, and the bill was voted into law with overwhelming bipartisan support from legislators.

“Basically, we created a foundation for all the municipalities here in New Hampshire to have the ability to create social districts,” Boyd said.

Boyd said while communities like Laconia passed the ordinance — Bordes pointed out it was a 6-0 vote — it is up to each town or city. Some, like Keene, opted against it. He said this is fine, and why the bill is worded in a way that it gives communities a choice.

When Bordes told Boyd the city voted in favor, Boyd reached out and congratulated him, saying Laconia built their own plan that best fits the needs of the city.

Bordes also serves Laconia as a Republican representative to the Statehouse.

“They’ve created a little social district in the heart of the downtown, and they’re going to use it as a beginning of a model, going to see what works, and see what doesn’t work,” Boyd said. “The have participating retailers. They’ve got other retailers who aren’t participating. Maybe they’re being tentative and see how this all plays out, but this is a tremendous economic development tool.”

Boyd said Detroit, Michigan, is another example of such a district. A vastly larger city with different dynamics, Detroit filed for bankruptcy, and has since turned around the economy after starting a similar program during the pandemic.

“It has created such an economic renaissance in Detroit, that I could see that absolutely happening here in Laconia,” Boyd said.

How it works

The social district is designed to generate foot traffic downtown, with hopes it will give a boost to area businesses which don't sell alcohol. Bordes said it is up to stores if they will allow drinks inside.

Participating establishments serve to-go drinks in designated plastic cups. At Defiant and Local Eatery, staff also write a date on the cup. Then, patrons can take their beverage to go and explore the area, marked with orange tape on the ground at the perimeter, to make it clear where it is allowed.

“Now what that does, is Mike could leave here and go up to the record shop there,” Boyd said, “within the district. He can go to BootLegger's if he wants, to try on a pair of shoes.”

Participating businesses are Defiant, Local Eatery, Sin Bin, The Candy Bar and Trillium Farm to Table. City Manager Kirk Beattie said others have expressed interest in coming on board, as well.

Kayla Bastille, director of operations at Defiant, said businesses purchase stickers for the cups from the city. Starting May 21, participating retailers allow to-go containers with alcohol from noon to 8 p.m., Thursday through Saturday.

Drinks must stay within the district, and also in authorized cups. On the first day, Bordes put a post out to on social media explaining the rules, asking people to throw away the cup before leaving the area, to keep downtown clean and safe.

Cups from one restaurant are not allowed into another. Seth Wingate, owner of Local Eatery, said they had one person come in with a cup from somewhere else, and there was no issue; the patron happily tossed it and enjoyed their time at his restaurant.

How it's going, so far

Bastille was happy with the first weekend, saying the process seemed to work well, and they learned a little bit for the rest of the summer.

“There was a draw, because people were excited just to be able to walk across the street,” Bastille said.

Bartender Colleen Henrick said people bought cups just to be able to stand out on the sidewalk and enjoy a drink outside in another setting. She thinks it attracts people who just want to take a lap around the block.

“I think it is going to be really cool when the concerts start up,” Henrick said, referring to a summer concert series on Canal Street, hosted by NH Vintage Vinyl.

In Veterans Square, part of the district, Local Eatery did not sell any to-go cups, but Wingate hopes this will change, as word catches on.

“I was hopeful for a little more, but we are just before the busy season.”

From a public safety standpoint, the first weekend was business as usual, according to Police Chief Matt Canfield.

He said it was fairly quiet downtown, and there were no issues and no arrests.

Canfield and Bordes both think it will take about 60-90 days to really get an idea of how this will work. Canfield said if Memorial Day weekend was any indication, he doesn’t think there will be any issues.

“It was a good time for us to be educated,” Canfield said. “We contacted a lot of businesses. There were minimal businesses participating.”

Canfield said one suggestion was to mark the cup with the date, so they know when the alcohol was served. This is not part of the ordinance, but one Boyd and Bordes both agreed was a good idea. This is how it is done at Defiant, and when Wingate found out, he said they will follow suit.

“We know it is going to be the business owners to help us make this successful, by coming up with these ideas," Beattie said. “This process is going to continue to evolve.”

There were no incidents where people filled their own cups, or walked around with other containers, Canfield said. He noted officers saw a few people participating.

“Once the summer crowd comes in, and more establishments jump on board, we’ll see where things are,” Canfield said.

Both Bordes and Canfield said it was nothing like Key West’s Duval Street, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, which can be notoriously rowdy, with inebriated people roaming the area. Bordes said that is not what the city's social district is intended for. “That’s why it is called a social district, and not a drunken district,” Bordes said. “When we have events, it will be good for the community. I don’t see it being chaotic, like some may think. It will be good for people to window shop with a cocktail.”

Bordes thinks the district will be great for car shows, and events like Pumpkinfest, but noted there aren’t many bars or restaurants downtown as it is. He has been in talks with establishments interested in coming to the area — notably, a brewery — and hopes this type of freedom will be attractive.

Bordes thinks after Motorcycle Week, and really even after July 4 weekend, they should have a better idea of the ins and outs of how this works, and if any tweaking is needed. While he doesn’t expect there will be a social district in Weirs Beach, calling it a “whole different ballgame,” he said other areas in the city could work.

“This is a stepping stone,” Bordes said. “This is a test run. Eventually, we could bring it down to Lakeport. We can expand it."

The city manager’s office and public safety committee of the council set the goal of revisiting the ordinance in 60 to 90 days, to see what worked and what didn’t work, and refine it if needed, according to Canfield.

“If things work out perfectly, that’s great, too,” Canfield said.