North Little Rock welcomes new entertainment district, loosens alcohol restrictions

NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — A strip mall in North Little Rock will soon be considered an entertainment district after the city’s Board of Directors approved the designation for the Lake Hill Center Monday night. The change allows people to carry alcoholic beverages outside the bar or restaurant where they bought them, as long as they stay within the Lake Hill boundaries.

The Lake Hill Center, located in the Park Hill area of North Little Rock, already has a number of stores, including restaurants, boutiques, and salons. Now, customers will be able to enjoy drinks from those restaurants while walking around the area.

In many places across the state, people have to finish their alcohol before leaving a restaurant or bar, but in the Lake Hill Center, soon to be known as the Lake Hill Entertainment District, customers can take their drinks to go.

North Bar bartender Chandler Hogue said the change will be a nice improvement for customers and businesses. “I think it would just be like a bonus,” he said.

North Bar is one of three businesses serving alcohol within the Lake Hill Center. Hogue said the district will still have clear boundaries and expectations. “I don’t think it would be like very disruptive really because obviously you still have everyday rules,” he said.

According to the City of North Little Rock’s ordinance, the designation doesn’t allow people to bring drinks from outside the district or take open containers to their cars. It simply lets customers carry a drink from one business, like the Pizza Pub, and walk freely within the Lake Hill Center’s parking lot.

Pizza Pub co-owner Jess McMullen said the change could help the area grow. “We’re not looking to do a Dog Town Throw Down up here, but we are looking to have a meeting place where someone can walk out and walk around with their friends with a beer, while they listen to music,” McMullen said.

McMullen also owns restaurants in Argenta, which is already an entertainment district. He said the Lake Hill designation could bring similar success. “You got Park Hill and Lakewood over here. There’s 3,000 homes in that area so if we can service those 3,000 homes and people come here and hang out then we got a good thing going,” he said.

While customers can take their drinks outside, they can’t have them in their original glass containers. The ordinance allows people to carry alcoholic drinks within the Lake Hill Entertainment District from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily.

The Lake Hill Entertainment District ordinance went into effect Monday night.