Nashville Is The Latest City To Have A Director Of Nightlife

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By Kevin Wilkerson, PubClub.com Nightlife Director

Nightlife is hot and happening around the world.

So much so that cities have started appointing directors of nightlife to work with bars, people and elected officials to determine the perfect mix of what works bests for everyone. Nashville is the latest city to do this joining, among others, Amsterdam, New York City, Atlanta, Dallas and Washington, D.C.

“The new role in my office will serve as a key liaison to neighborhood residents and the nightlife industry to address quality of life issues like cleanliness, noise, and safety,” said Nashville Mayor John Cooper.

Cities appointing nightlife directors demonstrates they are interested in working with bars and nightclubs, rather than just scrutinizing them whenever there’s a problem with a venue, the area or poorly-behaved patrons.

Benton McDonough, executive director of the Metro Nashville Beer Board, is Nashville’s Director of Nightlife. Atleast two more positions may be created under him, working 24/7 responding to any nightlife issues, added Benjamin Eagles, senior advisor to the mayor.

“The plethora of issues here and the variety of approaches to protecting quality of life and preserving that sort of balance and creating a business environment that’s sustainable speaks to the need for this role to serve as liaison to different departments, to different city agencies, to neighborhood associations, to council folks, and people who own businesses here,” Eagles said.

McDonough’s work begins with a co-called listening tour, which are meetings with residents and businesses to hear their thoughts on the city’s quality of life.

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