(MOBILE, Ala.) Bars and restaurants in downtown Mobile are getting their plastic cups ready.
The entertainment districts are open for business beginning Wednesday, March 12.
Starting at 4:00 p.m. you'll be able to carry your favorite alcoholic beverage out the door within the districts.
Expect additional police officers downtown during the first weekend, but long-term, the police chief says he needs $680,000 extra from the city to properly enforce the districts.
"At 4 o'clock I intend to walk the streets of downtown Mobile with a nice high-gravity beer," said Heroes Bar and Grill owner, David Rasp, whose bar is ready to go with dozens of plastic cups.
By April 1st, bars and restaurants within the entertainment districts have to either purchase 16 oz cups with their own logo on it or purchase cups labeled "LODA" from the Downtown Mobile Alliance. Until that time, regular plastic and paper cups are allowed.
"I think the people down here will enjoy the difference and appreciate it. I'm not exactly hiring extra people for the occasion. I don't think it's going to have that immediate shift in consumer activity as people have suggested," said Rasp.
Outdoor drinking will be allowed daily between 4 p.m. and 2:30 a.m.
And most downtown bars and restaurants are within the districts except the Haberdasher and The Alabama Music Box.
While Rasp believes the ordinance will benefit the city, he'd like to see a few changes, like pushing the start time back from 4 p.m. to noon.
"I think the customer that comes down here on a Saturday or Sunday for example, who wants to have a bloody mary or beer in Heroes, should be free to walk over to other events," said Rasp.
