SPRINGDALE, Ark. — At a Springdale City Council Committee Meeting on Monday, the city moved forward with plans to expand its downtown Outdoor Dining District.
The proposed expansion was brought up by the city council's ordinance committee and is expected to head to an official city council vote on Sept. 24.
"The outdoor dining district, specifically, just really helps connect the events and the programming that we're having to our businesses," Executive Director of the Downtown Springdale Alliance Jill Dabbs said. "It allows us to have a great event and we don't have to bring in a bar. We can just support our local businesses."
The Downtown Springdale Alliance helps promote downtown Springdale. Dabbs said they work closely with city officials, including the Chamber of Commerce, on events as well as welcoming people to the area.
In 2020, the city implemented the Outdoor Dining District. Now, customers in the district can buy food and beverages, including alcohol, and enjoy them while out and about in parts of downtown. Customers are given drinks in compostable cups and can dispose of them in marked trash cans in downtown.
The proposed expansion looks to extend the boundaries along Emma Avenue and include Luther George Park, which is currently under construction, in the district. Markers are currently located throughout the city to indicate where the Outdoor Dining District ends.
"We often get phone calls from businesses that are wanting to locate in downtown Springdale, specifically food and beverage businesses," Dabbs said. "They want to know where the outdoor dining district is."
Dabbs said the expansion comes as new businesses are currently flocking to the downtown area and want to be included in the business opportunities that are associated with being located in the district.
Some local businesses already in the boundaries are excited about the prospect of the district expanding.
"The bigger it gets, the better it's going to be," Boston Daniels, manager of the restaurant and bar The Odd Soul, said. "It includes more businesses down the road and encourages people to go farther and have more fun, and it really lets people do more stuff outside around here and have fun doing it."
Daniels said he has been the manager of The Odd Soul for seven years now. He said he has seen an uptick in customers ever since the city implemented the Outdoor Dining District.
"We got a lot more foot traffic," Daniels said. "It really ups the events, and I feel like it gets a lot of more fun people out here, as long as they do it responsibly."
An expansion, Dabbs said, to help handle a growing Springdale.
"We have had an incredible growth in food and beverage recently, and we hope to see that continue and we have a lot of development that is underway right now," Dabbs said. "Also, there's a tourism element that this will really help to enhance and provide an enjoyable experience for our visitors when they come to downtown Springdale."
Proposed district:
Current district:
For documents related to the city council's meeting on Sept. 16, click here.
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