"It will greatly benefit those of us who are down here, and it gives people another reason to come down and support us." Karen Patton has run The Sweet Potato on Manor Drive for 15 years. She told The Champion she thinks the city's new entertainment district is "a great idea."
On September 15, 2026, Stone Mountain City Council voted unanimously to approve Ordinance 2026-15 and Resolution 2026-16. Together they create a Downtown Entertainment District. The resolution text is dated July 21, 2026, but the minutes record the council's approval vote on September 15. Adults 21 and older can now buy a drink at a participating business and carry it along the sidewalks and public spaces of the historic downtown. The ordinance says it takes effect as soon as it's adopted, so the district is already in force.
The larger point is about timing. The city's big downtown project, Lawn on Main, is still in planning. The entertainment district is the first change that makes the Village's existing restaurants, taprooms and venues work like one connected evening out.
The Rules as Written
The city posts both documents on its Entertainment District page: the signed ordinance and the resolution that sets the guidelines and the map. The ordinance itself is short. Here is what it allows and what it prohibits.
| What the ordinance allows | What it prohibits |
|---|---|
| People 21 and older carrying and drinking alcohol inside the district | Taking a drink outside the district boundaries |
| Drinks bought from a participating licensed business | Drinking alcohol bought from a non-participating business while in the district |
| Drinks served in a city-approved disposable container | Glass containers on public property in the district |
| Outdoor drinking from 11 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week | Outdoor drinking outside the hours set by resolution |
According to The Champion, the city's announcement describes the cup as clear and disposable, with a city-approved sticker. The ordinance says the container must show identifying information the city requires. It also lets the City Manager set the size, design and labeling. The city's page also shows a sample cup image.
Businesses have to opt in. A business can only participate if it is inside the district, holds a valid Stone Mountain alcohol license for on-premises drinking, and gets city approval. Being on Main Street with a bar license doesn't make a business part of the district on its own.
This post explains the ordinance in general terms and isn't legal advice. If you're a business owner thinking about joining, confirm the details with the city.
What the City Hasn't Published Yet
The rules are clear, but a few practical details aren't public yet. Here is what's missing as of mid-October:
- A street-by-street boundary. The resolution covers public sidewalks, rights-of-way, plazas and other public spaces inside the lines on its Exhibit A map. That map is posted only as an image on the city's page. No written list of boundary streets accompanies it.
- A list of participating businesses. The Champion reports that the district includes "nearly a dozen restaurants and venues" but doesn't name them.
- A drink-size cap. Neither the ordinance nor the resolution gives a number. Size is left to the City Manager.
- Rules for walking into a non-participating shop with a cup. The ordinance bans drinking alcohol bought somewhere that isn't participating. It doesn't say anything about carrying an approved cup into a retail store that isn't in the program.
For now, the stickered cup is the simplest way to tell whether a drink came from a participating business. The posted map is the best guide to where the district ends.
The Businesses Already on the Street
The district matters because the Village already has places to walk between. The city's restaurant directory and Discover DeKalb list these spots in the historic downtown. Their participation hasn't been published, so this is a map of what's nearby, not a roster.
| Spot | Address |
|---|---|
| Weeyums Philly Style Cheesesteaks | 900 Main Street |
| Live Oak Restaurant & Tap | 947 Main Street |
| Stoned Pizza Kitchen | 965 Main Street |
| Cherokee Rose BBQ Bar & Kitchen | 975 Main Street |
| WNB Factory | 1054 Main Street |
| Sweet Potato Cafe | 5377 Manor Drive |
| Art Station | 5384 Manor Drive |
| Outrun Brewing Co. | 5368 East Mountain Street |
| Gilly Brew Bar | 5329 Mimosa Drive |
Four of those addresses fall between 900 and 975 Main. That short stretch is the kind of block a walk-with-your-drink rule is designed for.
The newest name on the list shows why the city is betting on downtown. Live Oak Restaurant & Tap held its official ribbon cutting on May 7. It's the second Main Street restaurant from Jonathan Hartnett, who also owns Cherokee Rose a short walk up the street. The Champion's June profile describes a menu built around Georgia: wild Georgia shrimp, boiled peanuts, a burger with Vidalia onions and peach ice cream for dessert.
Hartnett grew up in Stone Mountain. He told the paper he would love to see downtown busy and bustling again, the way it used to be, and that "restaurants are a good start in that direction." He also said both restaurants were "doing a brisk business."
Why the District Arrived Before Lawn on Main
Hartnett's goal and the city's plans line up, but they move at different speeds. Lawn on Main is the city's anchor project for downtown, and it's still being planned. The city chose JLL as its development adviser. According to the city's Lawn on Main project page, the team is still working out development strategy, phasing, parking, partners, financing and long-term operations.
The entertainment district needs none of that. It took one ordinance, one resolution, a map and a cup design, and it works with buildings and businesses that are already open. The city's announcement, quoted by The Champion, says the district "aims to support businesses in Stone Mountain Village and increase pedestrian traffic in the heart of the city." Mayor Jelani Linder called it "another effort to help make Stone Mountain a destination for metro Atlanta residents and visitors seeking a fun and engaging day trip."
Stone Mountain isn't the first in DeKalb to do this. The Champion notes that Dunwoody set up the Dunwoody Village Entertainment District in 2020 and the Perimeter Center Entertainment District in 2022, and that Tucker has a district too.
A few other downtown projects are also in progress, and none of them have firm dates yet. The city's tourism page says the new Welcome Center & Museum "opens this fall," with no date given. DeKalb County has adopted a Stone Mountain Trail Master Plan for the corridor from East Ponce de Leon Avenue at Sam's Crossing to the park's west entrance. That's a plan for future work, not a trail that's been built. For now, the cup rule is the downtown change you can actually use tonight.
The Fall Dates That Will Test It First
The district runs every day, but its first real test will come on the weekends when the city and Stone Mountain Park both have events on the calendar. Here is the overlap through December, drawn from the city's revised 2026 event schedule and the park's events page:
- Oct. 17–18: Stone Mountain Highland Games at the park. It runs on the park's Pumpkin Festival weekends, which continue Fridays through Sundays until Nov. 1. This year's festival adds a new hay maze.
- Oct. 29–Nov. 1: Native American Festival and Pow Wow at the park.
- Oct. 30: The city's Trunk or Treat, with trick-or-treating at decorated cars plus local artisan crafts and gifts. The city's revised PDF lists Oct. 30. Atlanta on the Cheap reports that the city calendar showed Oct. 31, without a location or hours. Check with the city before you go.
- Nov. 7: The city's Veterans Day Breakfast. Stone Mountain Christmas opens at the park the same day and runs through Jan. 3, 2027.
- Dec. 11: The Christmas Tree Lighting at the gazebo, with caroling and photos with Santa.
The Pow Wow and Trunk or Treat overlap at the end of October. It will be the first stretch of fall events since the cup rule took effect. Trunk or Treat is a family event, and the district rules only apply to people 21 and older with drinks from participating businesses. Those weeks will show how much foot traffic the cup rule brings downtown.
We keep track of downtown changes like this one in Stone Mountain and across southeast Atlanta. If downtown Stone Mountain is part of how you picture your next home, Vision To Realty can show you how the Village fits with the streets around it. Start Your Home Search with Tiffany.
