BRYAN, Texas — The city of Bryan has officially voted on Tuesday to allow for the public consumption of alcohol, effective immediately, in the Downtown Bryan area.
Bryan Deputy City Manager, Joey Dunn explained their reasoning for the change, “We’ve looked at other cities. We’ve looked at the economic development side of this. We’ve looked the special events that now occur in downtown Bryan which did not happen at the time this ordinance was adopted. We looked at state law requirements and this does a lot of things in terms of making it consistent with state law.”
Bryan’s previous ordinance did not allow the public consumption of alcohol in the downtown area and declared it a violation and misdemeanor offense.
Now, with downtown Bryan coming a more popular hub for social events like First Friday and community concerts, the city decided to update this ordinance to help business in the area.
Blackwater Draw Brewing Company Co-Owner, Chris Weingart described their reaction, “I’m excited for it its obviously going to be a huge boost for the local economy, downtown Bryan. I’m proud of our city, proud of the city council for doing something the benefits that's friendly for businesses. That’s why we decided to move into Bryan from College Station, we always felt the business environment was more friendly to mom-and-pop shops kind of like we are.”
Local businesses are expecting an uptick in customers looking to enjoy their new changes in the downtown area.
“I think what we’ll see is a lot more people enjoying themselves--they can enjoy their beverages if they were in Galveston or Brenham or Fredericksburg--I think they’re just gonna have a great time and it'll be reflected in the amount fun and traffic we’ll have here in Bryan,” Weingart said.
The new rule allows for the public consumption of alcohol except from 2 a.m. to 7 a.m. on weekdays and 2 a.m. to noon on Sundays.
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