A small city in rural South Georgia is trying to promote its downtown businesses by relaxing local alcohol laws.
City officials in Moultrie recently approved a new ordinance that allows people to drink alcohol outdoors during certain city-sponsored downtown events. The first event to test the new law, called Second Saturday, is scheduled March 14.
“We felt like it’d be a good opportunity to have more events downtown,” Moultrie City Manager Pete Dillard told WALB-TV.
Dillard said the change will allow residents and visitors to carry open containers of alcohol while browsing downtown vendors who will extend their business hours during Second Saturday events. Nearby Thomasville holds similar First Friday celebrations to promote its downtown merchants.
Packer Bar and Grill is one of 11 new businesses that opened last year in Moultrie, which is about 40 miles southeast of Albany. Manager Tiffinay Brooks said letting customers buy drinks and then roam downtown should help merchants across the board.
“It’ll bring more people through our doors, and whenever they leave, they’ll go back to their town and they’ll tell everybody about it,” Brooks said.
