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Catherine Lane

You May Soon Be Able To Carry Alcohol Outside In North Carolina’s Largest City

Author Catherine Lane
(Photo by Dan Smith/Getty Images)

The first time I ever saw someone walking around downtown Gastonia with a beer in their hand it looked so strange.  Gastonia and over 29 other cities in North Carolina across the Tar Heel State have “social districts”.  Charlotte is not one of those cities.  You may soon be able to carry alcohol outside bars and restaurants in North Carolina’s largest city.

According to the Charlotte Observer, social districts allow people to carry alcoholic beverages in public within a designated area or districts.  And that is all fine with the city.  Believe it or not Charlotte has not received any applications since it approved the idea of social districts in 2022.

All that is about to potentially change. The first social district application is expected to be submitted to city council next week by Plaza Midwood. The process will take up to six months according to the Charlotte Observer.  So how does a business decide  if having a social district is right for them? To apply they need to take the temperature of the neighboring property owners to see who is on board.  At least two businesses need to be involved.

There are rules and regulations if approved. You may soon be able to carry alcohol outside in North Carolina’s largest city.  According to state law, boundaries for the social district must be clearly marked and alcohol must be served in specially marked cups.  The proposed area runs from Morningside Drive down Central Avenue and over to The Five Points Area.  Some people are all for social districts, others may see them as problematic.  To learn more get details from the Charlotte Observer right here.

North Carolina Named One Of Top 10 States For Beer Lovers

April 7th is National Beer Day! Which if you’re a beer lover or casual beer drinker is reason enough to celebrate. So celebrate we will! I wouldn’t classify myself as a beer lover by any means, but it is my go-to before football games and at outdoor concerts, in the summer you’ll usually find me with a Corona. Take me to a brewery though and I honestly never have any idea what to order. So while our friends at BetCarolina ranked the best states for beer lovers, I don’t fit that category. But if you are reading this then chances are you do! And the good news is that North Carolina ranked in the top 10 states for beer lovers.

The rankings take into account quality, quantity, and affordability. NC’s highest score came in the affordability category. Here’s exactly how BetCarolina calucated these rankings, they “utilized BeerAdvocate.com to get the average rating of beers brewed in the state (ratings given out of 5), BrewersAssociation.org to get the amount of breweries per capita (per 100,000 residents) and MakeBeerEasy.com for the average price of a 24-pack per state. Once acquiring that information, we averaged out the ranking of the states to get our final rankings.”

They ranked all 50 states but below you’ll find the top 13. You can read the full study here. Cheers and Happy National Beer Day beer lovers! Celebrate accordingly.

  • 13. Massachusetts

    Massachusetts

    Quality Ranking: 1

    Quantity Ranking: 27

    Affordability Ranking: 25

    Total Average: 17.6

     

  • 12. (TIE) Vermont

    Vermont

    Quality Ranking: 6

    Quantity Ranking: 1

    Affordability Ranking: 45

    Total Average: 17.3

     

  • 12. (TIE) Virginia

    Virginia

    Quality Ranking: 25

    Quantity Ranking: 17

    Affordability Ranking: 10

    Total Average: 17.3

     

  • 10. Minnesota

    Minnesota

    Quality Ranking: 16

    Quantity Ranking: 14

    Affordability Ranking: 19

    Total Average: 16.3

     

  • 8. (TIE) Rhode Island

    Rhode Island

    Quality Ranking: 22

    Quantity Ranking: 22

    Affordability Ranking: 4

    Total Average: 16

     

  • 8. (TIE) North Carolina

    nc

    Quality Ranking: 23

    Quantity Ranking: 18

    Affordability Ranking: 7

    Total Average: 16

     

  • 6. (TIE) Indiana

     

    Indiana

    Quality Ranking: 8

    Quantity Ranking: 26

    Affordability Ranking: 11

    Total Average: 15

     

  • 6. (TIE) New York

    New York

    Quality Ranking: 12

    Quantity Ranking: 30

    Affordability Ranking: 3

    Total Average: 15

     

  • 5. Missouri

    Missouri

    Quality Ranking: 4

    Quantity Ranking: 28

    Affordability Ranking: 12

    Total Average: 14.6

     

  • 4. Colorado

    Colorado

    Quality Ranking: 15

    Quantity Ranking: 6

    Affordability Ranking: 21

    Total Average: 14

     

  • 3. Illinois

    Illinois

    Quality Ranking: 7

    Quantity Ranking: 32

    Affordability Ranking: 1

    Total Average: 13.3

     

  • 2. Iowa

    Iowa

    Quality Ranking: 2

    Quantity Ranking: 19

    Affordability Ranking: 15

    Total Average: 12

     

  • 1. Michigan

    Michigan

    Quality Ranking: 11

    Quantity Ranking: 13

    Affordability Ranking: 6

    Total Average: 10

     

Catherine Lane is the morning show co-host and midday host on Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. She has been with the station for the past 24 years and is a recipient of the Academy of Country Music Major Market Personality of the Year award. Catherine has been on air in both radio and television in the Queen City for 38 years. As a content creator for Country 1037, Catherine writes blogs on local events and restaurants. She also writes about great travel spots and out of the way places in the Carolinas. Anything outdoors, travel, food, animals or the many country artists from the Carolinas.

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