San Jose is looking to bring the party back to its downtown by creating "entertainment zones" via new rules allowing more outdoor events with alcohol.
The city council on Tuesday gave the green light to open at least seven entertainment zones in San Jose, which would also remove some of the red tape for restaurants to host events.
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WATCH HERE"There's still so much more we can do for our small businesses and our commercial districts," Mayor Matt Mahan said. "We have to."
The thought behind entertainment zones is restaurants and breweries could band together and host events with the look of a beer garden on closed streets. Examples include a watch part or festival where people can order alcohol and enjoy their beverages in the zones outside.
City leaders believe entertainment zones could be beneficial for businesses as the South Bay prepares to host the Super Bowl and World Cup next year.
"It'll hopefully make the city a lot more vibrant and a lot more interesting and incentivize people to come out and spend time in the downtown," said Eric Nielsen, co-owner of 55 South cocktail bar and lounge. "I think that's huge."
Nielsen also believes the city's efforts would help restaurants immensely, even though they would still need to acquire a special permit to host an entertainment zone.
"So this incentivizes us to do something interesting," he said. "To partner with other people, especially my neighbors, to host interesting fun events that are good for the community that people actually enjoy spending time here."
The city notes the recent success of the Steve Aoki event last week and believes it could make downtown more lively. It also might entice some businesses to open new shops.
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SIGN UP The Downtown Association said one in every five shops and offices are vacant in downtown San Jose.
"This is really about embracing our small businesses and small business districts and giving them flexibility to create really unique experiences, social experiences that are memorable, giving them the flexibility to be more creative," Mahan said.
The mayor said San Jose police were involved in crafting the ordinance to ensure the zones are safe.
Since the city council approved, the entertainment zones could open in July.
