Arlington Heights to uncork sip and stroll downtown area July 30

It will be 5 o’clock somewhere — in Arlington Heights’ new “sip and stroll” outdoor downtown social district — when the first alcoholic drink is poured Thursday, July 30.

That is the tentative launch date and time for a pilot program that will allow patrons to purchase booze from bars and restaurants and take their drinks to go — so long as they don’t leave the boundaries of the existing Arlington Alfresco outdoor dining zone.

Drinks will be for sale from 5 to 9 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Saturday, Sept. 26, according to village officials’ tentative timeline.

The program launch is in conjunction with the weekly Thursday night Sounds of Summer concert series. Last call is the weekend before Harmony Fest, the annual two-day event of food, music and entertainment before the intersection of Vail Avenue and Campbell Street opens to vehicle traffic again.

Existing liquor license holders in the downtown who choose to participate in the pilot will serve drinks in cups no larger than 16 ounces and apply a village-designed label identifying the establishment and date of sale.

They also will check IDs and require purchasers to wear wristbands, which will be the same color on a given night, according to Assistant to the Village Manager Jack Cascone.

At least for now, purchases will be limited to one drink per person, though some village trustees this week sought to loosen that rule to two drinks at a time.

Since the concept was first discussed in May, some trustees expressed sustainability concerns with an inordinate amount of plastic cups filling garbage cans.

“In full disclosure, in order to get this thing off the ground, I think we’re anticipating they’re going to be clear plastic cups for this year,” said Village Manager Randy Recklaus.

He said the cups are “readily available, easy to use,” and the police department wants a container that is transparent.

“There could be better ways or different ways to do this in the future with reusable cups, but just realistically we aren’t going to be able to do that in the time frame that we’re talking about to get this off the ground,” Recklaus said.

Public works crews will install signage at the exits to notify patrons to dispose of their cups.