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Kinston adopts downtown social district ordinance; plan needs ABC Commission approval

PRE News & Ideas | By Ryan Shaffer
Published May 2, 2024 at 6:30 AM EDT
Yeast affects several aspects of beer including the foam, or head, that forms on the of the glass. If fermentation is too vigorous, too many of the foam-stabilizing proteins may be lost.
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File: Yeast affects several aspects of beer including the foam, or head, that forms on the of the glass. If fermentation is too vigorous, too many of the foam-stabilizing proteins may be lost.

Kinston is the latest city in Eastern North Carolina to adopt a social district downtown, where people can carry and drink alcohol freely.

The council quickly and unanimously passed the ordinance so it could promptly go before the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission for final approval.

There was not much discussion Tuesday, but council members spoke at length on the measure at its March 19 meeting.

Kinston's Planning Director Elizabeth Blount said, "When I grew up in Kinston, it was called Magic Mile. I want us to reignite the magic of downtown."

The district will consist of a six-block area of downtown, bordered by Queen Street, Gordon Avenue, Mitchell Avenue and Peyton Avenue.

If approved by the ABC Commission, the proposal could go into effect as early as July 3rd, and Kinston will join Greenville, Washington, Wilson and Goldsboro as one of the handful of cities in ENC with a social district.
Ryan Shaffer
Ryan is an Arkansas native and podcast junkie. He was first introduced to public radio during an internship with his hometown NPR station, KUAF. Ryan is a graduate of Tufts University in Somerville, Mass., where he studied political science and led the Tufts Daily, the nation’s smallest independent daily college newspaper. In his spare time, Ryan likes to embroider, attend musicals, and spend time with his fiancée.
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