{"id":2047249,"date":"2025-09-24T20:13:56","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:13:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2047249"},"modified":"2025-09-24T20:13:56","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T20:13:56","slug":"fort-bragg-approves-pilot-entertainment-zone-to-invigorate-downtown-the-mendocino-voice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/fort-bragg-approves-pilot-entertainment-zone-to-invigorate-downtown-the-mendocino-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Bragg approves pilot &#8216;entertainment zone&#8217; to invigorate downtown \u2022 The Mendocino Voice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>FORT BRAGG, CA., 9\/24\/25 \u2014 The phrase \u201cgo cup\u201d is about to enter the Fort Bragg vernacular now that the Fort Bragg City Council approved a resolution establishing a new \u201centertainment zone\u201d\u00a0 on a 4-1 vote Monday evening.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>If approved by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, people will be able to purchase alcoholic beverages during select special events and walk around the Central Business District with drinks in hand.<\/p>\n<p>Approval of the resolution would also make Fort Bragg the first city on the North Coast to enact an entertainment zone. The <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mendovoice.com\/2025\/08\/willits-considers-downtown-entertainment-zone-allowing-open-container-alcohol-at-events\/\">Willits City Council is currently considering its own entertainment zone ordinance<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Fort Bragg City Manager Isaac Whippy said the zone idea came as part of the city\u2019s strategic plan to identify ways to bolster tourism and generate additional revenue. Earlier this year, businesses and residents were surveyed about an entertainment zone ordinance, with 55% saying they were open to the idea for special events.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A map show the \u2018entertainment zone\u2019 in downtown Fort Bragg, Calif., The Fort Bragg City Council approved a resolution establishing a downtown entertainment zone on Monday, Sept. 22, 2025 and if approved by the state department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) will allow the city to permit open carry alcohol during certain events. (City of Fort Bragg via Bay City News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>That public feedback shaped what was passed by the City Council earlier this week. Whippy says the goal is to keep public alcoholic beverage consumption confined to the CBD between Redwood Avenue and Alder Street, including Franklin and portions of Main streets.<\/p>\n<p>That zone includes establishments that already serve alcohol, such as Tall Guy Brewing, Cucina Verona, Sip Wine Bar, Welcome Inn, Golden West Saloon, Piaci Pub, and Los Gallitos.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a pilot project. There is data out there showing folks with a glass of wine walking around tend to consume less alcohol than just sitting in a bar drinking because they would be wandering around downtown,\u201d Whippy said in an interview. \u201cThey will be able to walk into different stores. We already see heavy foot traffic during our First Friday events.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whippy said the city wants to soft-launch the entertainment zones for First Fridays and special events, such as <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.com\/e\/the-longest-table-fort-bragg-tickets-1538112398589?aff=oddtdtcreator\">the Longest Table<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/fortbraggblues.com\/\">Fort Bragg Blues<\/a>, and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/visitfortbraggca.com\/fort-braggs-magic-market\/\">Magic Market<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Councilmember Lindy Peters was the lone no vote, citing concerns about enforcement. \u201cWe just sort of rushed through this. I think there are too many questions,\u201d he said during the Monday meeting. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have people who are perhaps slightly inebriated wandering into downtown businesses. What if one of the employees has a problem with them? What if one of the employees is in Alcoholics Anonymous and doesn\u2019t like to be around alcohol?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Whippy says the city is taking those concerns seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>His initial report, provided to the council in August, outlined measures to combat overconsumption and youth access with wristbands for age verification, mobile barriers for temporary street closures, clear signage, additional security, and bi-annual reviews with the city\u2019s Public Safety Committee and the Fort Bragg Police Department.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t want to take away from the family-friendly atmosphere we have,\u201d he said. \u201cThis will just add to the welcoming vibe of our downtown. This is a new concept for us, and we want to meet people in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"585\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01.jpg?resize=780%2C585&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-811784\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=768%2C576&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=1536%2C1152&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=2048%2C1536&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=2000%2C1500&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=780%2C585&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 780w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?resize=706%2C530&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 706w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-scaled.jpg?w=2340&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 2340w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mendovoice.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/BCN-20240915-TALLGUYBREWING-01-1024x768.jpg?w=370&amp;quality=89&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Patrons dance to the sound of the Steven Bates Band at Tall Guy Brewing on Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024. The brewery is located in the city\u2019s newly designated \u2018entertainment zone.\u2019 On Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, the Fort Bragg City Council approved a resolution establishing a downtown entertainment zone, which if approved by the state department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, will allow the city to permit open carry alcohol during certain events. (Sarah Stierch via Bay City News)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Under the plan, the entertainment zones would have set boundaries and operate only during city-approved hours, from noon to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday.<\/p>\n<p>Fort Bragg officials are now working through deciding which types of alcoholic beverages can be carried in-hand and what kinds of containers will be permitted. Most cities across the U.S. with already-existing open container laws on the books forbid the transport of alcohol in glass containers.<\/p>\n<p>Above all else, Whippy says Fort Bragg is committed to keeping downtown from turning into what he termed a \u201cBourbon-Street style free-for-all\u201d where open containers are everywhere.<\/p>\n<p>The California State Senate <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.digitaldemocracy.org\/bills\/ca_202320240sb969\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approved a measure in 2024 to allow cities and counties to create\u00a0 entertainment zones<\/a> as a response to some of the economic challenges restaurants, bars, and wineries faced during the pandemic when in-person visit restrictions were in place.<\/p>\n<p>Whippy said he plans to submit the paperwork to ABC in the next few weeks for final approval. If approved, the ordinance would go into effect 30 days later.<\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><iframe title=\"Story map\" style=\"display:block;border:none;visibility:visible;width:100% !important;height:500px;\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/embed.bloom.li\/article\/map?zoom=far&amp;post_key=2oW9YnmSnqLu6P5m9xFE\"><\/iframe><noscript><iframe src=\"https:\/\/embed.bloom.li\/article\/map?zoom=far&amp;post_key=2oW9YnmSnqLu6P5m9xFE\" title=\"Story map\" style=\"display:block;border:none;visibility:visible;width:100% !important;height:500px;\"><\/iframe><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source mendovoice.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FORT BRAGG, CA., 9\/24\/25 \u2014 The phrase \u201cgo cup\u201d is about to enter the Fort Bragg vernacular now that the Fort Bragg City Council approved a resolution establishing a new \u201centertainment zone\u201d\u00a0 on a 4-1 vote Monday evening.\u00a0 If approved by the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, people will be able to purchase alcoholic [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2047250,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[306820,357328,379613,305078],"class_list":["post-2047249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-economic-development","tag-fort-bragg","tag-fort-bragg-city-council","tag-small-business"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Fort-Bragg-approves-pilot-entertainment-zone-to-invigorate-downtown-\u2022.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2047249"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2047249\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2047250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2047249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2047249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2047249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}