On Sept. 15, the city’s new Go Cup ordinance for liquor, beer and light wine goes into effect. With this date fast approaching, city representatives have started discussing how the ordinance will be practically implemented with business owners and the public.
On Tuesday morning, Mayor Keith Gaskin and Columbus Main Street Director Barbara Bigelow explained the ordinance in a public forum at City Hall.
“Basically, what happens is, if you’re at a restaurant and you happen to be having a drink and you want to get up and walk around downtown, like if we have an event going on … then you can take that drink and walk on the street, shop, etc.,” Bigelow said.
According to Bigelow, patrons of businesses within the Leisure and Recreation District will be allowed to carry alcohol out of participating restaurants in designated green to-go cups, labeled “The District” on one side, every day between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m., once the ordinance takes effect.
The Leisure and Recreation District includes the downtown area from Fifth Avenue North in the north to Third Avenue South in the south, and Riverside Park in the west and Sixth Street North. It also includes a second area, including Seventh Avenue North from 14th Street in the west to 16th Street in the east, as well as 15th Street North between Eighth and Seventh avenues.
It will remain unlawful to publicly consume alcoholic beverages outside of the Leisure and Recreation District, according to the ordinance. Curbs on the outside edge of the district will also be painted green, displaying the boundary where drinks are no longer allowed, Bigelow said.
Businesses that do not want to participate in the Go Cup Ordinance will be given signs saying, “please no alcoholic beverages beyond this point,” she added. Participating businesses will be responsible for displaying a map of the district which also explains the boundaries and rules so patrons understand the ordinance.
“A lot of responsibility will be placed on the restaurant to know who they are serving, who they are allowing to leave their restaurant with a drink,” Bigelow said. “If someone has already overindulged, just like in your restaurant, you cannot give them a drink to walk out your door with. And this does not allow someone to purchase a drink, get in their car and drive around.”
Patrons are also not allowed to enter other restaurants permitted for on-premises consumption with a green cup in their hand, Gaskin added.
“If they sell alcohol or beer, you can’t take a cup in there from somewhere else,” Gaskin said. “If they don’t sell it, you can bring it in there, if they allow it.”
A few businesses have already opted out of participating in the ordinance altogether, for the time being, Gaskin said, including Huck’s, Harvey’s and J. Broussard’s, but businesses can opt-in or opt-out at any time.
To help offset the extra waste from the cups, Gaskin said, more trash cans will be installed downtown in front of participating businesses. The distinctive green cup color, he said, will also help to know if frequent littering is occurring.
Gaskin said he has also coordinated with the Columbus Police Department, to ensure the ordinance will not put any strain on the department’s duties. Even in the district, public intoxication is still not allowed, he confirmed to The Dispatch.
“Our current Chief (Joseph Daughtry) is from Natchez, and they have the same ordinance in Natchez,” Gaskin told The Dispatch. “He’s very familiar with the green cup district. They’ve anticipated that they won’t need extra officers cruising the area, but in the beginning, they’ll have folks to make sure things are going smoothly.”
Daughtry did not answer calls from The Dispatch requesting comment by press time.
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