TEMPE, AZ — Shoppers will soon be able to stroll the grounds of the Desert Ridge Marketplace and Tempe Marketplace shopping centers with a beer, cocktail, or glass of wine.
Vestar, the owner of both centers, said the new open-container liquor program will lead to more sales for its tenants and is a much-needed amenity for these centers' communities.
“We say it helps everyone by increasing time spent at the shopping center, which increases everyone’s sales,” Pat McGinley, the president of management services for Vestar, told the Business Journal. “You can get a drink at a movie theater and walk around resorts and golf courses with a cocktail, so why not retail centers?”
Vestar will be able to do this thanks to legislation it has been trying to get the Arizona State Legislature to pass for years. In May 2022, Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law, allowing certain shopping centers to have open containers on the property.
Read more of this story from the Business Journal.
