Open Container Zones Deliver Revenue Surge for Downtown Boston Restaurants
Boston’s first weekend trial of social districts—streets where bars and restaurants can serve patrons who carry drinks in designated zones—drew more than 10,000 visitors to Temple Place, exceeding foot traffic from any single day in the past seven years. Operators reported their highest revenue nights on record. Jm Curley founder Babak Bina said the bar posted all-time best sales over the weekend. The pilot zones on Temple Place and in the Blackstone Block Historic District, enabled by new state legislation signed earlier this month, run through the end of July.
World Cup matches amplified the debut, drawing international soccer fans into downtown bars and streets. But Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance, said previous weekend street closures without major events also succeeded, suggesting the format has staying power beyond special occasions. Kathleen Joyce, chairperson of the Boston Licensing Board, said the city had prepared to move quickly once the state law passed. The zones function as extended shared patios for participating businesses, not open-to-all public drinking areas.
Joyce said Boston will evaluate the full month before deciding whether to make social districts permanent or expand them. Nichols and Bina expressed interest in extending the Temple Place zone into more of Downtown Crossing, which would bring additional immigrant-owned independent restaurants into the program. The Massachusetts Restaurant Association called the trial a meaningful experiment. Joyce said the initiative represents a test of how the city might use public space differently to activate commercial corridors.
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