{"id":2506117,"date":"2026-07-17T14:31:28","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2506117"},"modified":"2026-07-17T14:31:28","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T14:31:28","slug":"street-drinking-could-be-legalized-in-5-berkeley-nightlife-areas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/street-drinking-could-be-legalized-in-5-berkeley-nightlife-areas\/","title":{"rendered":"Street drinking could be legalized in 5 Berkeley nightlife areas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">People sit on a curb with their drinks on May 8, 2025, on San Francisco\u2019s Valencia Street, an entertainment zone in the city where walking through the streets with cocktails is legal every night. Credit: Masaki Omori<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Drinking booze outdoors during street festivals, night markets, performances and more could soon be legalized in some Berkeley commercial districts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The city is considering establishing <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/berkeleyca.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2026-02\/2026-03-10%20Item%2007%20Entertainment%20Zone%20Ordinance.pdf\">five entertainment zones<\/a> where bars and restaurants are allowed to sell to-go alcoholic beverages for consumption from open containers during set times and events. In cases where roads are closed to traffic, drinking would be permitted in the street, but taking beverages outside the zones would remain illegal.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The zones would be located in parts of downtown, the Gilman District, Southside Berkeley, the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2025\/11\/21\/berkeley-telegraph-holiday-fair-location-2025\">North Shattuck<\/a> district and on San Pablo Avenue, just south of University.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-iframe\">\n<p>\n\t\t\t<iframe id=\"newspack-iframe-tW7OYEhv3brL\" layout=\"responsive\" height=\"100\" width=\"100\" style=\"height: 885px; width: 100%;\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"\" class=\"perfmatters-lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/fFBVs\/2\/\"><\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The change could enable expanded versions of existing festivals and events, or allow for new modes of nightlife in Berkeley.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other cities, including Santa Monica, Sacramento and San Francisco, have introduced entertainment zones since the state <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/economy\/2024\/12\/california-cannabis-alcohol-new-laws-2025\/\">legalized them at the beginning of 2024<\/a> with a goal of increasing foot traffic in commercial areas still struggling post-pandemic. Oakland is launching <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oaklandca.gov\/Community\/Events-Culture\/Entertainment-Zones\">entertainment zones<\/a> around Jack London Square, in Temescal and in two other neighborhoods this fall.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At its March 10 meeting, the Berkeley City Council approved a proposal asking staff to work with merchants to fine-tune rules for how the zones should work, such as how to enforce the legal drinking age of 21, when zones can operate (none would be allowed between midnight and 10 a.m.) and what type of beverages will be allowed. The ordinance will need to return to the council for final approval.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Councilmember Terry Taplin, who authored the proposal, was also behind a push last year to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2025\/08\/01\/berkeley-nightlife-council-terry-taplin\">revitalize Berkeley\u2019s nightlife scene<\/a>, as a way to support struggling cultural institutions, help businesses and raise sales taxes, still below pre-pandemic levels.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taplin told Berkeleyside that a Nightlife Council working group, including himself and his council colleagues Igor Tregub and Shoshana O\u2019Keefe, has attended events at Spats and the UC Theatre and World Cup watch parties at Gilman District wineries \u2014 reviewing every experience, taking notes and \u201cdebriefing afterwards.\u201d He said the World Cup got the group thinking about \u201chow to build entertainment around \u201cathleticism and sports, not just drinking.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets.citysidejournalism.org\/asset\/f3ee4b75-e94b-4678-8a97-ddd9f94b1288\/large\/Natera_SanPablo_250321_09.jpg?w=780&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A two-block stretch of San Pablo Avenue south of University is among the areas planned to be an entertainment zone. Credit: Ximena Natera, Berkeleyside\/CatchLight Local<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s a hard time financially for the city, which just <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2026\/06\/24\/berkeley-budget-sales-tax-firefighters\">closed a $30 million budget deficit<\/a> with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2026\/07\/06\/mobile-crisis-team-berkeley-winter-shelter-closures\">painful cuts to its social safety net<\/a>. Taplin\u2019s proposal for entertainment zones describes them as a way to increase foot traffic in commercial areas and hopefully reduce storefront vacancy rates.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSupport for these areas would allow the city and event planners to create permanent installations to support street events [s]uch as lowering bollards, street narrowing, and other accommodations,\u201d Taplin wrote. \u201cActivating public spaces in commercial districts will streamline special events, encourage arts and cultural programming, facilitate economic cross-pollination across nightlife industries, and attract commercial tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Taplin told Berkeleyside this month that when thinking about nightlife in Berkeley, the city is drawing inspiration from policies in New York, Melbourne and Montreal.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He said he expects entertainment zones could go live in Berkeley next year.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-where-entertainment-zones-are-planned-in-berkeley\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where entertainment zones are planned in Berkeley<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/assets.citysidejournalism.org\/asset\/9b9a0a48-40fc-4041-8ee8-408fdca4face\/large\/Natera_20230919_Downtown-Holga_22.jpg?w=780&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The block of Addison Street in downtown, where Freight &amp; Salvage and Berkeley Rep are located, is among the streets that would be included in the city\u2019s planned entertainment zones. Credit: Ximena Natera\/Berkeleyside<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The staff referral calls for entertainment zones in five business districts, though more could be added later:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Downtown: <\/strong>The whole square block southwest of Shattuck and University avenues \u2014 the heart of the city\u2019s theater district, home to the UC Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Freight &amp; Salvage, Revival Bar &amp; Kitchen and Comal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>San Pablo Avenue: <\/strong>Two blocks south of University Avenue \u2014 the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2025\/12\/26\/this-berkeley-neighborhood-is-thriving-except-for-one-intersection-can-it-stage-a-comeback\">trendy West Berkeley dining corridor<\/a> where La Marcha, Head and Tails Barbecue, Acme Bar, the Mile Limit Wine Bar, Middle East Cafe, Nudi Blue and Mi Tierra grocery store are located.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Gilman District: <\/strong>The whole square block around Donkey &amp; Goat, Hammerling Broc Cellars and Tessier Winery, plus three more blocks on Camelia Street and Fourth Street \u2014 the city\u2019s drinks district, where wineries <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2023\/10\/23\/gilman-wine-block-first-friday-berkeley\">throw first Friday parties<\/a> and an annual festival.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>North Shattuck: <\/strong>The exact location hasn\u2019t been spelled out, but it\u2019s expected to encompass part or all of Berkeley\u2019s gourmet dining district \u2014 possibly including the location of the North Berkeley Farmers\u2019 Market outside CVS, and the street outside Saul\u2019s, the Cheese Board, Chez Panisse, Crepevine and Via Del Corso.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li><strong>Southside: <\/strong>An approximately two-block stretch of Durant Avenue and one block of Telegraph, between Durant and Channing Way \u2014 the student corridor home to Cali\u2019s Sports Bar, Gypsy\u2019s Trattoria and Top Dog. It\u2019s near where the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.berkeleyside.org\/2025\/11\/21\/berkeley-telegraph-holiday-fair-location-2025\">Telegraph Holiday Fair<\/a> has long been held.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-have-entertainment-zones-worked-in-san-francisco-nbsp\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How have entertainment zones worked in San Francisco? <\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In San Francisco, where there are now over 30 entertainment zones, how they work in practice varies widely.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In most areas, the zones are tied to street fairs, festivals and other specific events. In the Castro, for example, there\u2019s a monthly night market with live music, drag shows and food trucks.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visitvalenciastreet.com\/entertainment-zone\">on a five-block stretch of Valencia Street<\/a>, it\u2019s more of a party zone. People can order a to-go drink from any participating bar, get a wristband proving they\u2019re over 21 and drink their beer or cocktail \u2014 served in a cup with a branded sticker \u2014 anywhere in the zone between noon and midnight daily.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entertainment zones have been popular with San Francisco bar owners, some of whom <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/sf\/article\/entertainment-zone-bar-restaurant-san-francisco-22319196.php\">told the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> that they\u2019ve led to a significant spike in sales and have been worth the bureaucratic hurdles.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The zones have also sparked complaints in the city about loud noise and drunken revelers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-merchants-hope-zones-will-add-more-excitement-to-the-city\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Merchants hope zones will \u2018add more excitement\u2019 to the city<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Matthew Jervis, the Downtown Berkeley Association\u2019s director of vitality, said his group had pushed the city to explore entertainment zones. He said he could see street closures, live music, food, vendors, and alcohol during the entertainment zone hours.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Alex Knox, the head of Telegraph Business Improvement District, said the Southside doesn\u2019t need \u201csuper elaborate\u201d entertainment to activate the area, and that he foresees the zones being an opportunity to host musical acts in the street and a monthly night market that could start in the \u201clater half of the day\u201d and end between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. He said he likes how the model has worked in San Francisco.\u00a0 \u201cI think there\u2019s good potential particularly from a sports bar angle,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andre Monk, general manager of Tap Haus, a German-style beer and pool hall on Durant Avenue said the entertainment zones will \u201cadd more excitement to Berkeley.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIf people come to Berkeley to have more fun, it\u2019s going to help all of our businesses,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-4    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide\"\/>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Berkeleyside Editor-in-Chief Zac Farber contributed reporting to this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<section id=\"block-95\" class=\"below-content widget widget_block\">\n<div class=\"gf_browser_gecko gform_wrapper gravity-theme gform-theme--no-framework post-feedback-form_wrapper\" data-form-theme=\"gravity-theme\" data-form-index=\"0\" id=\"gform_wrapper_21\">\n<div class=\"gform_heading\">\n<p class=\"gform_required_legend\">&#8220;<span class=\"gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk\">*<\/span>&#8221; indicates required fields<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<\/section><\/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 www.berkeleyside.org \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People sit on a curb with their drinks on May 8, 2025, on San Francisco\u2019s Valencia Street, an entertainment zone in the city where walking through the streets with cocktails is legal every night. Credit: Masaki Omori Drinking booze outdoors during street festivals, night markets, performances and more could soon be legalized in some Berkeley [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2506118,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[494020,348830,494021,360593,360594,494022,494023,494024],"class_list":["post-2506117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-downtown-berkeley-association","tag-entertainment-zones","tag-gilman-district","tag-home-highlight","tag-home-lead","tag-north-shattuck-association","tag-san-pablo-restaurants-and-bars","tag-telegraph-business-improvement-district"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Street-drinking-could-be-legalized-in-5-Berkeley-nightlife-areas.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506117","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=2506117"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506117\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2506119,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2506117\/revisions\/2506119"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2506118"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2506117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2506117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2506117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}