GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Think of it like Bourbon Street, but here in Beer City.
Social zones have already helped bars and restaurants around the city slingshot out of the pandemic, and now, Grand Rapids is adding four new social zones spanning a total of 35 city blocks.
Inside the zones, diners and bar-goers have free range to carry to-go cocktails around and sit outside in blocked-off portions of roadways.
The four new zones are on stretches of Plainfield Avenue, Leonard Street, Michigan Avenue and Stocking on the West Side.
“For us it’s not just business and sales, it’s the people,” said Josh Glazier, general manager of Blue Dog Tavern in the new Stocking zone. “Getting those people back into the West Side and back into the Blue Dog Tavern, it’s a good opportunity for everybody.”
Now, nearly every section of the city features a zone. The new additions have added to the already-existing zones downtown.
The next neighborhood to receive a social zone may be the Burton Heights district.
