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If you haven’t been to Third Street Promenade recently, we won’t blame you. Santa Monica’s outdoor shopping district has struggled in recent years to attract locals amid rising empty storefronts and public safety concerns, thanks to the huge increase in the area’s homeless population. The area still sees large tourist traffic over the summer and weekends, but even the openings of new restaurants like the Oceanfront’s Dantai bacteria have largely failed to attract the pre-pandemic crowds at the Promenade.
Currently, Santa Monica will turn the entire three-block area into an open container zone someday in June. ABC 7 Los Angeles reports that the zone’s boundary lies between Wilshire Boulevard and Broadway. Last night, the city council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance with a bid that could change the fate of a struggling commercial district.
The move appears to be in perfect alignment with the latest residents at Promenade who have seen the departure of major retailers. According to the Los Angeles Times, local landlords are experimenting with “experienced retail,” including pickleballs and boozy art classes. Last fall, the area saw the opening of Holy Molly, a mini golf club that sells liquor and offers Instagram-ready courses. Apparently, in the era, people are also playing live sellers at the Promenade Tiktok.
However, the new “outdoor entertainment zone” is not created without guardrails. Companies offering To-Go alcoholic beverages should check their IDs and provide official wristbands to their customers. The city of Santa Monica plans to monitor the program and will conduct a review in six months to make the results publicly available.
Edit: The original version of this article refers to the open container method hours from 8am to 2am. This is wrong. According to a Santa Monica city spokesman, the first time actually takes 6pm to 2am. I regret the error.
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