Carolina Beach could become the next municipality in the Cape Fear region to establish a social district.

The Carolina Beach Town Council is slated to discuss a social district proposal during its regular meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The region’s first social district launched in Wilmington’s Brooklyn Arts District in the fall. 

Social districts allow people to buy an alcoholic drink at a participating establishment (not bring one from home) and consume it anywhere within a designated area. The North Carolina General Assembly approved legislation in 2021 that created the framework for social districts.

Since then, Roger Monk, who owns The Tropical restaurant on the Carolina Beach Boardwalk with his wife, Virginia, said he’s been part of a conversation around bringing a social district to the town. Monk will present on social districts to the Carolina Beach Town Council on Tuesday.

Monk said he sometimes gets questions from customers at The Tropical about whether they’re allowed to carry alcohol along the Boardwalk and in other areas within the town’s Central Business District.

“For Carolina Beach, one of the big things we get is parents who come down here with little kids, he said. “They want to have a beverage, but the kids obviously want to be on the amusement park rides, and that’s usually where our inquiries come from.”

Monk said he and other business owners addressed the town council during a meeting several months ago to gauge their initial interest in a social district. They received positive feedback, Monk said, and decided to move forward with a more formal proposal.

“I just think it makes Carolina Beach, especially the boardwalk experience, significantly better,” he said on Tuesday, “and allows us to integrate all sorts of businesses and events and the carnival and everything into that experience.”

The proposal he’ll make on Tuesday includes a social district that would encompass the Central Business District, along with additional areas to include other nearby bars, restaurants and shops, according to Monk. The initial proposal would run seven days a week from noon to midnight, he added.

Monk acknowledges that the specifics of the proposed social district are subject to change based on feedback from town leaders, residents, and other business owners. He said he expects a “pretty healthy discussion” at the council meeting on Tuesday.

Carolina Beach Mayor Pro Tem Deb LeCompte said she asked town staff to add the social district discussion to the council's agenda after being approached by several businesses near the Boardwalk. She said the town’s compact Central Business District could make it a prime spot for a social district.

“I think our downtown is unique to most of our local beachtowns because we do have such a diverse business district,” she said, “and I just thought it would be a good fit.”

At a recent town budget and strategic planning retreat, Carolina Beach Town Manager Bruce Oakley said he presented information on the state statute authorizing municipalities to establish a social district, along with other general information.

Establishing the social district in the Brooklyn Arts District took more than a year and involved a pilot district in February 2025, along with the city of Wilmington's creation of new guidelines and a committee to oversee social districts.

The Brooklyn Arts District's social district spans 10 blocks along North Fourth Street and one block of Red Cross Street and takes place on the first and third Saturdays of each month from noon to 5 p.m. After an initial six-month trial period, business owners have said they hope to expand the social district to every Saturday.

Monk said that while the current push for a social district in Carolina Beach came primarily from local business owners, the establishment of a social district in Wilmington helped.

“Having a local government that is close enough that there's a lot of interaction with, I think certainly greased the wheels a little bit to have the council and the mayor be more open to doing this now,” he said.