Happy Hour: Open Containers Now Allowed in Bellevue, Kentucky Entertainment District

Bellevue, Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, is the latest city to follow in the footsteps on Las Vegas and New Orleans in allowing alcoholic beverages in the public realm.

1 minute read

November 29, 2019, 1:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Ohio River

Land of liberal open container laws. | Wholtone / Wikimedia Commons

"Fairfield Avenue will be merrier and brighter this holiday season with adults now legally allowed to carry their alcoholic beverages in a designated area of the sidewalk, and from bar to bar," reports Emily Hanford-Ostmann.

Bellevue, Kentucky is opening its new entertainment district to public consumption just in time for the traditional post-Thanksgiving parties. In Bellevue's case, there's also an annual Christmas Walk.

"Bellevue joins cities like Hamilton and Milford in creating designated districts where bar and restaurant customers can take a stroll while drinking a beer or cocktail," according to Hanford-Onstmann. Other cities with similarly post-Puritan drinking laws documented by Planetizen over the years include Covington (also notably located on the same side of the river in the same region) as well as cities in Ohio, Tennessee, Mississippi, Nebraska, and Alabama.

In Bellevue, as in the other examples, supporters of the idea how to lure visitors to the area, with these public drinking laws amounting to a tool of economic development.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019 in WCPO

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Woman and young girl looking at subway map, woman pointing.

Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?

Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.

June 9, 2025 - John Pobojewski

Map of EV charging ports in rural U.S. communities.

The EV “Charging Divide” Plaguing Rural America

With “the deck stacked” against rural areas, will the great electric American road trip ever be a reality?

June 20 - The Daily Yonder

Google street view of Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn with pedestrians crossing a crosswalk and cyclist in the bike lane.

Judge Halts Brooklyn Bike Lane Removal

Lawyers must prove the city was not acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and illegally” in ordering the hasty removal.

June 20 - StreetsBlog NYC

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

June 19 - Transportation for America