WILMINGTON — A social district first approved last year to take place in the Brooklyn Arts District two Saturdays a month will become a weekly affair starting the last weekend in April.
The Wilmington City Council voted 5-2, with Kevin Spears and Chakema Clinton-Quintana dissenting, to allow the district to take place every Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. instead of only the first and third Saturdays of the month. This allows people to open-carry alcoholic beverages on public rights-of-way as they stroll from business to business; only alcohol purchased from the businesses are allowed in the district’s footprint. People cannot bring beverages from outside the district either.
READ MORE: Social district coming 2 Saturdays a month to Brooklyn Arts District
ALSO: Parking a main concern for residents when it comes to permanent BAD social district
MORE: Council sets framework for citywide social district considerations
Commodore Public House and Kitchen owner Wes Westlye said the last six months of social district Saturdays — totaling a dozen — have been “hit or miss.”
“I think it’s confusing to people to keep up with when it actually happens,” he said, expecting a consistent schedule to draw in better attendance.
In February 2025, three pilot program days were successful for the 20 businesses that participated in the city’s first social district program. Westlye said the visibility it brought the restaurant and bar, a six-month-old business at the time, helped put them on the map.
“Anytime we have more people coming to the area, it’s positive,” he added.
Council voted last fall to allow the BAD social district to continue, but only twice a month. Though grateful it passed, Westlye said the lack of consistency hindered it somewhat.
“We would often hear from customers: ‘Oh, we didn’t know it was this week, we thought it was last week,’” Westlye said.
The social district was officially accepted into city ordinance last fall after hearing back about the pilot from community members and around 20 BAD business owners — Brooklyn Cafe, three10, Don Luca Pizzeria, Kitchen Sink, Avenue A, Flytrap Brewing, Chow Town, Goat and Compass, The Eagle’s Dare and others. At the time of council passage, the BAD Collective was clear it wanted to move to a weekly frequency.
Deputy City Manager Thom Moton reported to council on Tuesday night the social district advisory committee — made up of varied representatives from city staff, including fire, police, parks and rec, and the ABC Commission, WDI, area business owners and others — agreed to a six-month weekly trial. The goal was to track how a weekly social district does at the height of peak tourist season — or summer months.
“If there are no ill effects found, the staff would recommend it happen in perpetuity,” Moton explained.
Moton added no other social district applications were pending in city limits yet and said the committee convened in early April to discuss results over the last six months. The social district has no budget impact on taxpayers, as extra city services, such as additional fire or police presence, aren’t needed. The BAD Collective augments trash collection and street cleaning outside of basic city services.
Council member David Joyner pointed out no one from the ALE reported concerns over 12 events that had taken place in BAD since October. Previously, critics expressed concerns about potential underage drinking or disorderly conduct.
Joyner also added no complaints came in from the church in the area — of which some members initially attended a council meeting opposing the district. Nor were there capacity issues from the fire marshal and only 14 calls for service from police came in.
“I see it’s highlighted as ‘no major crime,’ but what were the calls for?” Joyner asked.
Wilmington Police Department Chief Ryan Zuidema, in council chambers Tuesday, nodded affirmatively to Moton they were nuisance issues.
Moton also explained how tenants in a nearby apartment complex found the social district “created a sense of community.”
Westlye told Port City Daily all the social district days have remained family-friendly, also emphasized by Moton Tuesday. Council member JC Lyle concurred, noting she attended one with her mother and witnessed much of the same. Westlye confirmed there are plenty of people walking around with strollers and going from business to business to hear music, support local entrepreneurs and enjoy a few adult beverages while attending.
However, he said the social district has had most success drawing in people during BAD special event days, such as February’s Coffee Crawl.
“But last Saturday we saw barely anything,” Westlye explained, noting it was one of the most beautiful Saturdays of the year, which also had businesses competing with the beach.
Westlye called it a “missed opportunity” not to have a social district event during Alt-Zalea Fest two weeks ago. The special event draws in 2,000 people to the BAD to hear local live music at a half-dozen or so venues the Saturday during Azalea Festival weekend. But this year’s event happened to land on the second Saturday of the month rather than the third.
“With Alt-Zalea, we couldn’t really reap the benefits of a social district — or even see what those benefits are,” Westlye said.
Margarita Crawl is slated to take place May 16 in the district and BAD Pride Fest is launching for the first time on June 13, both of which will have social district permitting. During larger events, businesses also often have vendor markets featuring artists and makers, in addition to music. At Commodore, Westlye already has started booking out Saturday music from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the outdoor patio to coincide with social district days.
With little pushback to date, council member Joyner did point out around 13 parking citations were written during the 12 Saturday social districts between October and March. Parking has been the biggest hurdle for many residents in the area who depend on onstreet spots. Since parking is still free in the BAD, everyone clamors a space in the district.
It’s a problem local resident Ty Greene spoke to council about during public comment Tuesday as well. Greene, who has resided in the district for more than a decade, has asked council to make residential curbside parking a priority for those who live in condos in the area.
“I’m not opposed to social districting, but we need solutions to our parking,” he prompted council again. “In my 7-minute walk here, I passed 3,000 empty parking spaces and two parking decks and a surface lot.”
Not to mention other business lots, he pointed out, that are empty on week nights or weekends and could potentially be used rather than allowing visitors during social district days to park in on-street spaces.
Parking wasn’t addressed by council, though previously staff stated it would promote the Skyline Parking Deck to try and persuade parkers there during social district days. Council agreed to allow the six-month trial of every-Saturday social districts, immediately effective in the BAD. The board will hear from the social district advisory committee in September and if no issues arise, it will continue without disruption.
“The folks who have participated, the business owners as well as the community that has been engaged in this discussion have done an outstanding job,” Mayor Saffo said. “We also have the ability, as a city, if we wanted to stop it, we could do it immediately — if we had an unfortunate situation or if it got unruly or out of hand.”
At Port City Daily, we aim to keep locals informed on top-of-mind news facing the tri-county region. To support our work and help us reach more people in 2026, please, consider helping one of two ways: Subscribe here or make a one-time contribution here.
We appreciate your ongoing support.
