It appears the ability to sip and stroll has found favor with several thousand Wilmington residents and visitors. That’s the report on a pilot social district project that took place on three consecutive Saturdays in February within the Brooklyn Arts District downtown.

With the results of the test run in hand, organizers now want to ask city officials to make the district designation permanent and plan to approach city council about it as early as next month.

The Wilmington neighborhood launched the project after the city council gave it the go-ahead in January. After seeing the concept in action, Brooklyn Arts District business owners are calling the experiment a success. Co-organizer Tara English said participating businesses saw the biggest numbers of patrons ever.

Social districts are defined areas within municipalities or counties that allow people to purchase an alcoholic drink in one participating establishment and then move freely within the area with that drink. Since September 2021, when the N.C. General Assembly passed a law allowing city and county governments to create these districts, growing numbers of cities and towns have stepped up to the bar. In Wilmington, downtown business advocates eyed the possibility as soon as the law was enacted, pointing to Savannah, Georgia, and Huntsville, Alabama, as cities with successful programs.

More than three years later, the concept earned a trial run, thanks to the efforts led by two B.A.D. business owners and backed by the Brooklyn Arts District Collective. Scott Wagner, owner of the Goat & Compass, and English, owner of the Brooklyn Cafe, spearheaded the initiative and helped to define the social district’s boundaries and operation, including its noon-to-5 p.m. timeframe.

“The reason we chose 5 o’clock was specifically for our restaurants in our district because they tend to start dinner service at 5 o’clock,” Wagner said. “So, we wanted to have people come into the district, be able to be adults, move freely within the district … and then stay within the district and help those restaurants, as well,” Wagner told the Business Journal in early January.

The pilot social district encompasses a 10-block radius along Fourth Street, from Walnut to North Front streets, and a block section of Red Cross Street to include access to The Eagle’s Dare. Sixteen establishments participated.

English said each Saturday’s event had a theme.

“The first (Feb. 1) was the Coffee Crawl, which is a festival (B.A.D. does) every year,” she said. The second was the Super Bowl, a sports theme. And the third, on Feb. 15, was Sweetheart Stroll.”

The Feb. 15 event also partnered with organizers of Black History Month celebrations.

How do you judge success? The numbers tell the story, English said.

The official headcount was 3,600 people on Feb. 1; 2,300 on Feb. 8; and 2,600 on Feb. 15.

“This has probably been the most successful event we’ve ever had,” English said. “Every participant had triple or higher the normal number of people. From a financial perspective, they were our best days in 10 years and contributed to economic growth for all. We definitely hit the nail on the head. For us to see numbers like we did, it shows the city is ready for this and people want it.”

The pilot happened during a winter month during which many B.A.D. businesses struggle financially, some even taking out loans to weather the low season, according to English.

The other significant number, English said, was zero.

“The police department had zero calls from anyone in the social district. The fire department had zero calls; there were zero EMS calls,” she said. “So from a public safety perspective, zero. There was no public intoxication, even though there was concern by residents in the district that these events were going to be like a frat party in the middle of the day.”

Instead, she said, each Saturday’s social district turnout was multi-generational, with grandparents, parents and children visiting shops and eateries.

Jennifer Concklin, co-owner and general manager of seafood restaurant three10, concurred. She said her establishment took part in the first two pilot Saturdays, which she said were largely successful.

“As a small family-owned business, the more people who put eyes on our business the more we can hope to grow and in turn make a positive impact on the local economy,” Concklin said. “The one thing that this district has lacked in the past is foot traffic. The pilot of the social district accomplished that goal and from my vantage point, people who participated enjoyed themselves in an orderly and safe manner.”

Since parking was a concern of neighborhood residents, the city opened its Skyline Center parking space, which normally sees no more than five cars on Saturdays, according to English. But on the three social district Saturdays, between 105 and 170 cars parked there, an indication that event participants took advantage of the site.

“We’re going to request that the city provide more signage directing people to the Skyline Center parking,” English said of possible future social district Saturdays. That possibility looks likely. When Brooklyn Arts District Collective representatives met with city officials Feb. 21, the feedback was positive.

The group will consider that feedback, and that of area residents, and modify the social district plan as needed. They plan to submit their request to the Wilmington City Council in either April or May, English said.

“Our next step is to go before city council, either April 1 or in May,” she said. “We hope they will make the (temporary) ordinance permanent.”