Fayetteville, NC Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Section 5-5 bans two things outright for anyone who isn't an occupant of a motor vehicle: consuming an alcoholic beverage, and simply possessing an open container of one, on public streets in the city and on any property owned, occupied, or controlled by the city. 'Open container' is defined broadly as one whose seal is broken or that isn't the manufacturer's original unopened container. The section carves out four narrow exceptions, each still requiring a valid ABC permit: restaurants, private lounges, or receptions in Fayetteville Regional Airport areas the Airport Commission designates; receptions and fundraisers the city manager designates at the Horne House; public or community-sponsored functions on streets, alleys, or parking lots temporarily closed to traffic, or at city parks and facilities in the Core Downtown Area, once a special events permit issues under § 24-133; and permittees operating under § 24-134.

1, layers on its own hours and cup rules, but the general § 5-5 street and city-property ban still governs everywhere else in the city, seven days a week.