The Champagne Stroll Walks a Bigger Downtown West Monroe Than Antique Alley

"It also looks to expand the district so there's more businesses on streets other than just Trenton," Mayor Staci Albritton Mitchell told KTVE in August, as the city got ready to rearrange its downtown streets. "So we'll see more businesses on Commerce, more businesses on Cotton."

Two weeks after that interview, the Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance that draws the same larger map in legal terms. The Champagne Stroll runs Thursday, Nov. 19, from 5 to 8 p.m. It is the first holiday evening downtown since both changes arrived, and the first time a holiday crowd will walk the downtown the city has been sketching all fall.

A Street Test That Reached Past Trenton

The test came first. On a Sunday in late August, the city put up a temporary demonstration project covering the corridor from Cotton Street to Commerce Street, planned to run for six weeks. According to KTVE's report on the launch, Trenton and Commerce Streets became one-way. Crews covered the traffic lights where Trenton meets Wood and Pine and put up stop signs. Barriers, potted plants and cones marked out wider sidewalks.

The layout came out of the Downtown Master Plan, written more than six years earlier. The stated goals were to handle future traffic growth, make downtown easier to walk, and add nearly 20 parking spaces. Mitchell's case rested mostly on the corners. She told KTVE that bumpouts at intersections shorten the stretch of street a pedestrian has to cross, and that "it's safer for backing out." Police were to watch camera feeds through the test period and track whether congestion got better or worse.

Shop owners watched the parking. Norma Rice, owner of Antiques and Treasures Galore, told KTVE that parking was her main question. "I do know that we are supposed to have more parking. Whether it's going to be in the back, it is going to be a lot of convenience for us as merchants and for our customers," she said.

The city first took public input at two meetings in August: one at City Hall and one at Kayla's Kitchen on a Wednesday morning. The six-week window has since closed. The next scheduled chance to hear about city projects is the West Monroe-West Ouachita Chamber's State of the City Luncheon on Nov. 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the West Monroe Convention Center. KTVE reports that Mitchell will discuss current projects, recent development and future plans there.

The Ordinance Draws the Same Map

The Downtown West Monroe Entertainment District was adopted Sept. 1 and took effect Sept. 15. Its boundaries, written out in the ordinance text, run in two branches from the corner of Bridge and Trenton:

1. Southeast on Trenton, northeast on Pine to Commerce, southeast on Commerce, northwest on Wood, then along North and South Riverfront Street to Endom Bridge.
2. Southwest on Bridge, southeast on Cotton, southwest on Natchitoches, southeast on Cypress, and northwest on Wood back to Commerce.

The district covers every lot and building facing those street segments. It also includes the public land between Riverfront Street and the Ouachita River, plus one more property, 95 McClendon Avenue. Commerce and Cotton, the two streets the mayor named in August as the next places for business, are both inside the district, along with the riverfront.

The ordinance also says the district does not create a zoning district or change anyone's zoning. What it does change is how people can move through the area in the evening.

What the Cup Rules Say

Here is what the ordinance allows inside the district:

• Hours: Daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. The aldermen can tighten the hours by resolution. Expanding them takes a new ordinance.
• Who: People 21 and older, with a drink bought legally from a participating establishment.
• The cup: New, not glass and not aluminum, supplied by the business that sold the drink and printed with that business's name or logo. No reusing or refilling.
• What stays home: Coolers, ice chests and personal containers.
• Where the drink goes: It has to stay inside the district. It doesn't extend onto private property without the owner's consent, and vehicles, trailers, tents and similar setups can't be used as drinking spots unless the city specifically authorizes it. The ordinance also says it does not authorize drinking in a motor vehicle or watercraft where applicable law prohibits it.
• After: Cups go in a trash can. Littering is prohibited.

To take part, a business must hold a current city permit to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption and be authorized by the city. The city can suspend or revoke that authorization. At the launch, Mitchell told KTVE that everyday conduct rules still apply: "If you are, you know, publicly drunk or intoxicated or acting a fool, then the police are going to take care of that."

This is a summary of a city ordinance for general information, not legal advice. The full text and the City of West Monroe are the places to confirm how it applies to you.

Why the City Modeled It on Ruston and Bossier City

City leaders based the district on existing ones along the I-20 corridor, mainly Ruston and Bossier City. Mitchell pointed to Bossier City's district, where several businesses have opened. In her words, the area has become "a nightlife area with arts and an arts council and entertainment and restaurants and things going on." In plain terms, the cups are meant to draw restaurants, and restaurants are meant to fill streets beyond Trenton.

Downtown businesses greeted the idea of more neighbors warmly. Megan Kennedy, general manager of Flying Heart Brewing & Pub, told KTVE, "Even if other restaurants came down here in the downtown area, it's not going to hurt us. It's only going to help the community more."

Nov. 19, From 5 to 8

The Champagne Stroll is an annual evening of after-dark shopping, store deals and champagne served along the way. The city calendar lists it in downtown West Monroe, and the KEDM community calendar lists it at various shops with Downtown West Monroe supporting the event. KEDM notes that champagne is for guests 21 and older with ID. West Monroe Main Street Director Adrienne LaFrance Wells promoted the stroll on KNOE in late October, along with the Holiday Open House in Antique Alley that started the season on Nov. 1.

The stroll ends at 8 p.m., and the district's hours run until 10 p.m. Under the ordinance, downtown can stay a walkable evening for two hours after the shops' own event wraps up, as long as each drink comes in a participating business's logo cup and stays inside the boundary. That window is the kind of foot traffic Mitchell described at the launch, aimed at making the district livelier and drawing more restaurants and businesses.

The Rest of the Downtown Season

The stroll is the middle of a busy stretch:

• Saturday, Nov. 7, 4:30 to 8 p.m.: Ainsley's Angels' 11th annual Rolling on the River 5K at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center, 501 Mane Street, per Discover Monroe-West Monroe and the city calendar.
• Tuesday, Nov. 17, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.: State of the City Luncheon at the West Monroe Convention Center.
• Thursday, Nov. 19, 5 to 8 p.m.: Champagne Stroll downtown.
• Saturday, Nov. 28, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.: Holiday Outdoor Movie downtown, per the city calendar.
• Monday, Nov. 30, 6 to 7 p.m.: City tree lighting.
• Saturday, Dec. 5, 3:30 p.m.: Kiwanis Christmas Parade, themed "Gingerbread Jubilee: 250 Years of Sweet Freedom."

Drivers who use Thomas Road should know about separate state work. DOTD announced concrete patching on LA 617 at Thomas Road, between Jonesboro Road and Cypress Street, with intermittent lane closures expected to continue through late 2027, KTVE reported.

If you own a building on Commerce, Cotton or Riverfront, or you're thinking about how a downtown address might change as the district fills in, I'm glad to talk through what these changes could mean for a specific property. John Michael Sampognaro is a phone call away. Let's Connect.