Charles Oliver
charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com
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Imagine downtown Dalton with maybe a dozen upscale restaurants and a half dozen entertainment venues. Imagine a downtown packed with college students and other young people each weekend.
Local leaders say that’s possible, but they say it might take some tweaking of the city’s alcoholic beverage laws to make it happen.
“We are trying to look at ordinances from several other cities to see what they have done and make all the changes at once instead of doing them piecemeal,” said City Council member Denise Wood.
The idea has support from many downtown businesses.
“The model would be what Savannah has accomplished and what some other cities have accomplished. It creates a festive atmosphere. It creates some excitement and interest in the general business district, allowing us to attract more restaurants. One of the niche markets that has great potential for the downtown area is entertainment,” said T.J. Kaikobad, owner of The Dalton Depot restaurant.
Council members were slated to hear the first reading of an ordinance that would allow people who buy alcoholic beverages in downtown restaurants to take them outside in to-go cups at a meeting earlier this month. That was taken off the agenda before the meeting because the ordinance was a bit broader than some council members had first thought it would be.
“It seemed to me, and we are still researching, it made it for any night. Any time someone could buy alcohol at one of our downtown restaurants and walk outside with it, not just special occasions,” said Mayor David Pennington.
One idea that has been floated would be to allow people to buy drinks and take them outside during the downtown parties and other events hosted by the Downtown Dalton Development Authority. That would basically build upon a law the council passed a few years ago that permitted people to buy and carry alcoholic beverages outside during the parties and beer festivals and other events the DDDA sponsors.
“Our local establishments downtown, when we have a downtown party, they are not allowed to sell alcohol and allow people to walk outside to the party. That puts them at a disadvantage,” said Pennington.
But Kaikobad says such a narrow ordinance presents its own problems.
“How do you define events? You’ve got a bicycle race, a walk or a run, a party. What constitutes an event? That would set us up for a bureaucratic challenge,” he said.
Council members say they hope to review other cities’ laws and have a draft ordinance to vote on by the end of the summer.
