Ordinance, holiday bring in business

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Downtown Mobile's Entertainment District entered its first weekend.  

It is now legal to taken an alcoholic beverage outside in some parts of downtown Mobile as long as it's in a designated cup and no larger than 16-ounces.

It wasn't too hard to find people strolling down Dauphin Street with an alcoholic beverage in hand Saturday afternoon. A number of people told FOX10 News, they came downtown to enjoy a drink and the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

“I love downtown Mobile. It’s a good time: Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day,” Nathan Shirah said.

Some customers said they planned on taking their drinks to-go after their dinner.

"It’s kind of part of the plan. I mean, we wanted to come have dinner and go downtown afterwards,” said Jason Nowak.

T.P Crockmiers Manager Jack Weldon said he hasn't seen huge crowds taking advantage of the new ordinance just yet.

"We hadn't had a whole lot of new reaction yet. It will come along; people are finding out. The rule was supposed to go into effect April 1, but they upped it,” Weldon said.

Weldon believes once word gets out a bit more, the to-go drink orders will pick up. Even though some parts of Dauphin Street were booming with activity, it was clear which blocks were not included in the district's boundaries.

Three blocks on Dauphin Street are excluded from the new district: Cedar to Franklin Streets, because some residents and business owners didn't want to be included.

"To be excluded from the entertainment industry feels like a slap in a face,” said The Haberdasher Co-Owner Elise Poche.

The restaurant and bar had customers inside their building and a cupcake booth set-up outside.

The entertainment district is from 4 p.m .until 2:30 a.m. seven days a week.