Social districts, booze in bathrooms, no-food bars: Lawmakers try to make NH more bar friendly

Yahoo

23-05-2025

The Barley House in downtown Concord on May 22, 2025. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin)
Last time Drew Cline visited family in his hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, he went to his favorite barbecue joint in a downtown area that had been struggling to keep businesses afloat in recent years.
'I always take a walk around downtown to see how it's changed,' he said. 'And there would always be vacant storefronts. Until last time I went and we did our stroll around downtown, and not a single storefront was vacant. And there were people walking around with beer, and I asked, what's going on?'
Cline learned from shop owners that the area had become designated a 'social district' where people were allowed to purchase alcohol at bars and restaurants and take it with them outside the bar within this social district. He said before the district was created, the closure of mills and competition from shopping malls and development along a nearby state highway had hurt businesses' ability to stay afloat downtown.
'Now, Hickory won't attribute 100% of its revival to the social district, but they do contribute a pretty large portion of it,' he said. 'And so it's working.'
Cline, who now lives in Bedford and works as the executive director at a conservative think tank called the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, pitched the idea to state Rep. Bill Boyd, a Merrimack Republican. Boyd said he used North Carolina's legislation on social districts as a model to create New Hampshire's House Bill 467, but also saw successful social district programs in Michigan, Georgia, and other states. Cline said officials he spoke with in North Carolina said they hadn't seen increases in public drunkenness or crime.
'Not even trash,' Cline said. 'Which is kind of surprising, but I think that's part of the planning for these downtowns, is that you do plan for more trash receptacles, more recycling bins.'
Last week, the New Hampshire Senate approved HB 467, which now heads to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's desk. The bill would allow New Hampshire towns and cities to opt into the program and establish social districts within their borders. The districts would have to be approved by a city council or other municipal body, or during a town meeting, and plans would be submitted to the liquor commission. The bill lays out operational guidelines, including the containers designated for alcohol, signage with information and rules, and time limits set at the discretion of towns and cities.
The bill also has backing from the New Hampshire Municipal Association. Brodie Deshaies, the association's legislative advocate, described the bill as 'a great private-public partnership' that towns and cities have been asking for.
The bill is one of several that lawmakers are moving through the State House in an attempt to loosen restrictions on bars in the Granite State.
House Bill 81, a bipartisan proposal to allow patrons to bring alcohol into the restroom at a bar or restaurant, is also headed to Ayotte's desk. State law currently prohibits people from bringing alcoholic beverages into 'foyers, hallways, kitchens, restrooms, or other areas not approved for service by the commission.'
Supporters of the bill, which was sponsored by Bethlehem Democratic Rep. Jared Sullivan, characterize it as an effort to reduce the risk of date rape drugs being placed in drinks. Rep. Erica Layon, a Derry Republican, said during a hearing last month that lawmakers had heard about a woman who left her drink on a table while using the restroom because a sign said it was illegal to take it with her. While she was gone, Layon said, the woman's drink was drugged.
'She was out at a bar, had one drink, and then woke up in a hotel room the next morning after being raped,' Layon said. 'Hopefully, you share the view that it is more important to empower people to protect themselves from unwanted assaults than it is to micromanage how they manage their drinks.'
Henry Veileux, on behalf of the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association, said people within the industry were opposed to the bill because of potential for underage drinking and overconsumption. He added that bartenders can hold on to a patron's drink while they use the restroom.
Another bill proposed this session takes aim at an old rule for establishments.
New Hampshire has long prohibited bars from selling liquor without also selling food, though there's a series of exceptions that the Legislature has carved out for hotels, airport bars, and other establishments over the years. House Bill 276, sponsored by Claremont Republican Rep. Wayne Hemingway, sought to change that and create a new liquor license — 'a tavern license' — in the state that allows bars to sell hard liquor, beer, and wine without serving food. However, that bill was tabled by the state Senate last week, which means senators didn't kill it entirely but they've decided against approving it for now.