Thursday, September 10, 2020

The Twist

New entertainment venue open downtown

Downtown Northville is offering a new twist on dining in the city.

Officials have approved a new social district in the community, allowing city streets to become an extension of the bars and restaurants themselves.

It's called The Twist and expands already-closed city streets to become an even larger district where visitors can walk the city streets with “cocktails to-go” from participating businesses. The district encompasses N. Center from Main to Dunlap and E. Main from Center to Hutton, with common areas including sidewalks, roadways, Town Square, and Old Church Square. 

“Since the beginning of the summer, the community has been enjoying the new outdoor dining and shopping atmosphere and the addition of The Twist provides us another way to support the businesses and welcome residents and visitors back to town safely,” said Lori Ward, director of the Northville Downtown Development Authority.

Street closures instituted earlier this summer allowed for bars and restaurants to expand outdoor seating areas into parking lots and certain streets. The Twist creates a whole district where visitors can take drinks to go and visit downtown.

Participating businesses include 160 Main, Browndog Parlor, Center Street Grille, Lucy & The Wolf, Poole's Tavern, Simply Wine, and Table 5.

“The DDA remains committed to supporting our businesses and the community,” Ward said

“We worked with the businesses to implement a reopening plan for downtown Northville that provides an opportunity for all of the downtown businesses to reopen safely and with the maximum capacity allowed under the governor's executive orders.”

Visitors are asked to wear a mask when not seated at a table or bar, and whenever possible if not eating or drinking.   Lawn chairs are not permitted and audiences should  not crowd around the performers or congregate in large groups. 

Any alcohol consumed in the Social District must be contained in a special district cup with the Social District logo “The Twist” as well as the logo of the establishment that served the drink.   An alcoholic drink, purchased from a participating restaurant, may be consumed at the restaurant where it is purchased or in the commons area but may not be carried into another restaurant or their designated outdoor serving area. 

Drinks may not be taken into retail stores and visitors are not allowed to bring alcoholic drinks from home or purchased from other places into the Social District.

Visitors are urged not to gather in clusters. Close proximity increases the risk of spread of COVID, especially when laughing, talking loudly or yelling, and coughing or sneezing.