Photo: Getty Images/Radiokukka
Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix on Jan. 12 will become the first outdoor shopping centers in Arizona to allow shoppers to drink alcohol as they shop.
Vestar, the owner of both centers, had argued that malls need to become more relevant as destinations by offering food, beverages and entertainment such as nearby concerts, holiday decorations, fire pits and stage performances — not just shopping.
“We say it helps everyone by increasing time spent at the shopping center, which increases everyone’s sales,” Pat McGinley, the president of management services for Vestar, told the Phoenix Business Journal.
The law enables on-site restaurants or bars to offer alcoholic beverages for consumption in common areas of the mall property during designated dates and times. Shoppers won't be able to take their drinks into parking lots, road areas or outside the mall.
Many municipalities relaxed their open container laws during the earlier stages of the pandemic to help revive downtown districts and the trend appears to be sticking.
Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey last January signed into law a bill that allows municipalities to designate outdoor areas where people can drink alcoholic beverages.
In March 2022, Greensboro, NC, began allowing restaurant and bar customers to drink on designated downtown public streets from noon to 9 p.m.
In July, Angola, outside of Buffalo, became the second village in the state of New York to lift its open container law.
Speaking to AZ Weekend, Nadia Muller, who lives in Glendale, outside Phoenix, said she was concerned about shopper safety and drunk driving as public drinking arrives at Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace. She said, “This is not Vegas. We might only be four hours away, but it’s still not the same.”
Most villages that have lifted open container laws claim they have not seen an increase in litter, disorderly conduct or crime as some residents feared.
Last November, however, Fort Worth, TX, banned open containers or public consumption of alcohol in the West Seventh Street entertainment district due to a sudden increase in crime and underage drinking.
- Outdoor drinking soon to be offered at two Arizona marketplaces – Arizona's Family
- 2 Valley retail centers to soon allow shopping with alcoholic beverages – Phoenix Business Journal
- Outdoor drinking soon to be offered at two Arizona marketplaces – AZ Weekend
- Greensboro moves to help downtown businesses by establishing social district allowing some public drinking – Triad Business Journal
- Village of Angola approves lifting open container law – Buffalo News
- NJ towns are now allowed to designate open container areas – NorthJersey.com