PHX Reporter

Two outdoor retail centers in the Valley are set to allow shoppers the option of drinking outdoors while they window-shop.

Six establishments in Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix and five at Tempe Marketplace will sell alcoholic beverages that consumers can drink while walking outside. Open container laws had previously prevented this before a three-year pilot program was established by former Gov. Doug Ducey (R-AZ) in 2019, which allowed mall owners to collaborate with company owners and supply alcohol that could be consumed at public locations on mall property.

“I think it’s going to create more of an opportunity for more people to visit the Marketplace and for more businesses to thrive,” Dave & Buster’s General Manager Trent Averhoff told Arizona's Family.

The Arizona Senate enacted a law last January that enables Arizona companies with the proper licenses and permissions to sell alcoholic beverages outside on a permanent basis.

"If the wife ever says, 'Let’s go shopping,' I’ll probably say, 'Well, let’s go here,'" Phoenix resident Edgar Barraza told Arizona's Family.

Others, however, aren't so pleased with the new rule and worry about its implications.

“Are they able to really drive?” Nadia Muller of Glendale asked, referring to shoppers who are drinking at the mall. “Are they going to get more taxis? Can they get more Ubers out this way in case something from drinking happens?”

Muller added that there are limits to what should be allowed at shopping malls.

“This is not Vegas,” Muller told Arizona's Family. “We might only be four hours away, but it’s still not the same.”

Heather Edge, marketing director for Vestar, parent company to both centers, said preparations were underway to beef up security to account for the social drinkers, as well as signage showing exactly where shoppers can drink.

“We have Harkins, Dave & Buster’s, Kabuki, Gen Korean, Genghis Grill and it’s all within the district,” Edge said, according to Arizona's Family.