What happens at The Avenue after the lawn chairs leave Central Park for the season?
In past years the answer was pretty quiet. The Avenue's First Friday series runs every first Friday from March through October, and its event page has been the place where the center promoted drinks to go from participating restaurants. When the music stopped for the year, the drinks to go stopped too.
This winter is set up differently. In May, City Council gave The Avenue Peachtree City's first Entertainment District license. Between now and December 31, the center has a holiday calendar, a grand opening and a new breakfast spot. Together, that makes the coming weeks the first test of whether The Avenue can work as a downtown on ordinary nights, not just on concert nights.
First Friday was the template
The concert series set the pattern. On September 4, The Venus Kings played Central Park from 7 to 9:30 p.m., and The Avenue's event page asked people to bring a lawn chair, grab dinner and "enjoy a drink to go from participating restaurants." The lineup before that ran from Soularmander in June to Souls Hill in July and Mostly 80's Band in August.
The center was already working under an event-night version of the sip-and-stroll idea. What it lacked was a way to offer the same thing on a night with no band.
The two votes that changed the off-season
That changed in two steps this spring.
On April 16, City Council approved an Entertainment District ordinance by a 3–2 vote, according to The Citizen. Mayor Kim Learnard and Councilmen Michael Polacek and Clint Holland voted yes. Councilmembers Laura Johnson and Suzanne Brown voted no. The ordinance was set up as a 12-month pilot, and city officials said they would monitor it through the end of the year. Before the vote, some council members raised concerns about minors and nearby parking, Fayette County News reported.
The ordinance alone didn't let anyone carry a drink across a parking lot. Each property has to apply and win its own council approval. The Avenue's application came up on May 21. The official meeting minutes show council approved the license application from CP-Venture Five–APC LLC for The Avenue at 239 City Circle by a vote of 5–0.
Kelly Page Lawrence, The Avenue's marketing manager, described the goal to The Citizen in April:
"So instead of just waiting for our events, like First Friday, if you're out at The Avenue, you'll be able to do that. Instead of just being strictly on a patio, you'll be able to stroll the center."
In the same article, she said the change could give Peachtree City the "downtown feel" it doesn't have yet.
What the city's rules say
Ordinance 1254 sets the conditions for any Entertainment District in the city:
| Rule | What the ordinance says |
|---|---|
| Participating venues | At least three licensed on-premises alcohol businesses, and each keeps its own alcohol license |
| Where drinks come from | Only drinks bought from licensed businesses inside the district |
| Containers | No glass, and each cup shows the business or district name or logo |
| Boundary | Drinks can't leave the district, and exit signs warn that open containers aren't allowed past the line |
| Hours | The city's general alcohol hours apply, and last call has to be finished by 1:55 a.m. |
Danny Dolan's Fayette meetings preview for the week of May 17 said The Avenue's application proposed five participating establishments, but it didn't name them. Under the ordinance, the marked cups and the exit signs are how a district's edges are shown. This is general information about a city ordinance, not legal advice, so check with the city or the venue if you have a specific question.
The calendar that will test it
With the license in place, the center's winter dates matter more than they did in past years. Every event between now and New Year's Eve falls inside the year the city said it would be watching the pilot.
- Friday, October 30. Trick or Treat & Fall Festival, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Barktober runs 4 to 6 p.m., and trick-or-treating is 5:30 to 7 p.m.
- Thursday, November 5. Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams grand opening at 232 City Circle, 6 to 10 p.m., with free scoops advertised.
- December 7, 14 and 21. Holiday Photos with Santa, 5 to 7 p.m.
- December 31. Noon Year's Eve at The Avenue.
The trick-or-treat night is the first big family evening at The Avenue since the First Friday season wrapped.
Why an ice cream opening in November matters
Jeni's is opening on a Thursday night in early November, and Visit Peachtree City's listing calls it the brand's first shop in South Metro Atlanta. The address, 232 City Circle, sits on the same street as the 239 City Circle address on the district license.
The Citizen's April story on the ordinance opened with that same scene, with parents grabbing a beer to go while walking their kids to ice cream. A dessert shop that stays open into the evening, opening in the off-season, is the kind of tenant that gives people a reason to walk the center on a weeknight.
The morning side of the center is new too. Biscuit Belly opened to the public at The Avenue on Tuesday, April 21, and held its grand opening that Friday, April 24. This winter The Avenue has a breakfast spot that opened this spring, an evening dessert stop opening in November, and a district license that covers the hours in between.
The same downtown idea, in other parts of town
The Avenue isn't the only place in Peachtree City trying something that looks like a downtown. The other moves this fall come in different forms, and several land on the same nights.
Drake Field Night Market, November 6. The night after Jeni's opens, Visit Peachtree City lists a Night Market at Drake Field from 5 to 10 p.m. That makes back-to-back evening events at two different spots in town.
Made Here in Peachtree City, November 14 and 15. The city's event calendar lists this two-day event the following weekend.
Bicicletta in Kedron Village. The team behind ENZP opened Bicicletta on June 23 at 1263 N. Peachtree Parkway in Kedron Village Shopping Center, with a concept inspired by Italian hospitality and cycling culture, The Citizen reported.
The Oink Joint on Highway 54. The family-run barbecue spot opened in late April at 2870 Highway 54, next to Flying Biscuit Café, according to The Citizen.
Partners II at Aberdeen. This one comes closest to The Avenue's goal, built a different way. The Citizen reported on September 30 that the original Aberdeen site of Partners II Pizza is in the middle of a major redevelopment, that the restaurant is staying open during construction, and that the project will include residences above the businesses. The project's own materials describe three-story condominiums above local shops, including a new Partners II, with completion expected in the first quarter of 2027.
The Avenue is getting a downtown feel through a license and a calendar. Aberdeen is getting it by putting homes above storefronts. Both are happening in the same year, in a city that The Avenue's own marketing manager described as lacking a downtown feel.
For more about The Avenue's neighbors to the north, see our look at how Trilith Live changed Fayette County's nights out. Our Fayette County neighborhood guide covers the wider area.
If you own a home a short golf cart ride from City Circle or Aberdeen, places like these factor into how buyers see your street. At The Kinnebrew Group, we keep up with what opens, what gets approved and what's going up near you so our advice reflects your actual neighborhood. When you're curious what that means for your home, get your free home valuation and we'll walk you through it.
