Graham’s city council has decided to allow four beer or wine vendors to sell alcohol during the restored Arts Around the Square festival scheduled for next month.
The vote was 3-2, with mayor Jennifer Talley and council members Bonnie Whitaker and Bobby Chin supporting the addition of beer and wine vendors and mayor pro tem Ricky Hall and councilman Joey Parsons voting against.
Parsons was the most direct in opposition, saying briefly, “I don’t think it should be there at all. It’s a family event, and I don’t see where alcohol has anything to do with [an] arts festival.”
The issue first arose at last month’s meeting when representatives of Forgotten Road Ales, a brewery on East Harden Street, approached the council about including beer and wine vendors in the Saturday festival, now scheduled for May 17.
This is the first year of the new version of the festival since the original incarnation, sponsored by the Alamance Arts Council, ended in 2002 after being held annually for 25 years.
This week, they were joined by Donald Hicks and Kirsten Holliman of Cary, owners of another brewery, Little Oblivion Brewing Company, which operates at 112 North Main Street.
City staff had worked with Forgotten Road Ales since the March council meeting to develop two options which were presented to the council Tuesday night (both assumed a maximum of four vendors): allow vendors to be spread out along West Elm, East Elm, and North Main streets or just on West Elm Street.
Council member Bonnie Whitaker expressed a preference for the three-street option, saying, “I prefer not to bunch them up.”
Ben Farrar of Forgotten Road Ales and the owners of Little Oblivion Brewing Company stressed that there was no history of drunkenness or bad behavior associated with either of their establishments, and said they would be studious in ensuring that there was no overconsumption. They also stressed that there would be no mixed drinks available, only beer and wine.
Farrar said that, in addition to the two Graham companies, the other two companies would be Burlington Beer Works and a wine business in Burlington.
Tom Boney, Jr., publisher of The Alamance News, which operates at 114 West Elm Street, in the zone for both options but is typically closed on Saturdays, expressed concerns about the expansion of alcohol sales in the downtown and particularly at what had historically been a family-oriented event.
He suggested that, if the council insisted on adding beer and wine sales, it be restricted to the two Graham businesses, not expanded to others from out of town, and that the drinking area be confined to the option along one street, West Elm.
When Whitaker suggested that she was ready to recommend the three-street proposal, Talley asked whether she wanted to restrict the numbers to the two Graham companies. She said she did not, thinking four was a reasonable number.
The council went on to pass Whitaker’s motion, 3-2.
Possible social drinking district in Graham
Later in the meeting, another bar owner, Daniel Alvis of Maple Street Tavern, asked that the council consider adopting a social drinking district as other local municipalities have done. Burlington, Mebane, Elon, and Gibsonville have each adopted such a district.
However, Alvis suggested that Graham’s version should be “event-based,” rather than an ongoing, open-ended district operating every day of the week.
Read our editorial page comments on these issues: https://alamancenews.com/graham-council-votes-3-2-to-allow-alcohol-sales-at-arts-around-the-square-festival/
Mebane to consider expanding, making permanent its downtown social drinking district
Meanwhile, in Mebane this week, that city’s council agreed to hold a public hearing on May 5 about whether to make permanent and expand its downtown social drinking district.
When the council adopted the social drinking district last year, it did so on a one-year trial basis.
Requesting to be added to the district is Shuffle N Roll, a gaming store at 204 North Fifth Street.
