Memphis Council may allow alcohol in open plastic cups on Main Street

The Memphis City Council opened discussion Tuesday on a proposal to allow people to drink and carry alcohol in open plastic containers on Main Street, including the length of the mall and in the growing South Main area.

Council member Martavius Jones said the ordinance, which he's sponsoring, would spur economic development on Main from E.H. Crump Boulevard to A.W. Willis Avenue. He got the idea from a Beale Street Task Force trip to New Orleans, an open-container city, he said.

The Beale Street Historic District is currently the only public open-container zone in the city.

"You'd have a lot more businesses, a lot more vibrant businesses, in that entire Main Street area," Jones said.

Jones said he would accept a suggestion from Chief Operations Officer Doug McGowen to convene a small group of stakeholders to discuss the question, including the Downtown Memphis Commission and Main Street restaurateurs. McGowen said the administration is "open" to the discussion.

The committee — Jones and Philip Spinosa Jr. were the only council members present — voted to recommend approval of the ordinance, which will go to the full council Dec. 5.

Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.