CRESTVIEW — A group of downtown business owners that first met July 19 has adopted an official name and set tentative goals, including loosening the city’s alcohol sales rules.
Meeting Tuesday evening at Casbah Coffee Company, the Downtown Crestview Merchants and Owners Association said that is one key to revitalizing downtown.
Members understood the Community Redevelopment Agency board’s concerns about downtown venues serving alcohol, particularly at outdoor events where people might carry a beer with them.
Some members, including Main Street attorney Nathan Boyles and business owner April Meier, said one solution might be to consider the restrictions on an event-by-event basis.
But the near-blanket ban not only stifles business and restaurant development, such as craft brewery one potential downtown business owner would like to start, it also virtually assures Main Street looks like a Wild West ghost town after 5 p.m., some merchants said.
CRA Director Brenda Smith said the merchants’ concerns were noticed by an investors group that in August assessed downtown potential.
When the topic of loosening alcohol regulations for downtown was brought up at a Sept. 20 CRA meeting, Smith said questions arose. Finding solutions requires expert advice.
“The CRA board has some legitimate concerns about alcohol, so we bring the professionals in who can assess the district and say, ‘This will work’ and ‘This will not work,’” Smith said.
Working with marketing consultants from The Petermann Group, Smith said a thorough assessment of downtown’s potential will include surveying businesses, city leaders and customers on multiple issues, including alcohol sales. Fortunately, she said, “This board right now has been the most receptive and progressive board ever.”
Megan Bowersox, one of the association’s organizers, listed some other projects the group could consider, including:
●Implementing a downtown Little Free Library
●Collaborating with the Common Ground Community Garden on an expanded farmers market
●Working with the Main Street Crestview Association on monthly evening street festivals or other events.
“I don’t see anything but good coming from this,” Main Street President Paul Lowrey said. “This is a great time to be a business downtown. I really see a lot of great things happening downtown.”
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Merchants: loosen alcohol sales restrictions