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Phoenix A Step Closer To Creating Entertainment District

Downtown Phoenix
(Photo by Mark Brodie - KJZZ)
Downtown Phoenix.

As downtown Phoenix continues to infill, some business owners have encountered a law that has hindered their ability to sell alcohol.

In at least three instances, microbreweries wanting to set up shop downtown couldn’t. Now, the city is one step closer to creating an entertainment district that would change that.

It’s currently against the law for a business to sell alcohol if it’s within 300 feet of a church or school. But for some downtown businesses, that law is especially challenging.

Christine Mackay, director of Community and Economic Development with the City of Phoenix, said there are nine churches in the proposed entertainment district. 

"So, this would allow, on a case-by-case basis going through a full public process, to allow that liquor license to be considered by the City Council and the state liquor board," said Mackay

Mackay said the full City Council will vote on the measure June 17.

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KJZZ senior field correspondent Kathy Ritchie has 20 years of experience reporting and writing stories for national and local media outlets — nearly a decade of it has been spent in public media.