The city of Columbus is creating a downtown Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA.
It’s a new piece of Indiana legislation from 2023 that allows patrons 21-years and older to purchase alcoholic beverages and carry them outside to other events or participating retailers.
Mayor Mary Ferdon said it will provide a new source of revenue for restaurants and bars and will boost tourism.
“We've tried to be very careful about where we set those boundaries, and so we'll take it very slow and see how it works,” Ferdon said.
She said schools and churches had to give permission, and she hasn’t received any pushback yet.
“This is something that the, actually, the downtown community has really expressed an interest in having,” Ferdon said.
Signage will be placed along the boundaries and plastic cups will have stickers designated as DORA.
The Columbus district cites nine temporary bar locations and eleven establishments interested in obtaining a DORA permit.
Temporary Vendor Locations:
- 6th Street Arts Alley
- 4th & Jackson St.
- 4th & Washington St.
- 4th & Washington St.
- 4th & Franklin St.
- Washington St. between 4th & 5th
- Proposed plaza on People Trail
- Millrace Park near Amphitheatre
- Millrace Park, west of parking lot
Retailer Permitees:
- Zwanzig's Pizza
- ZwanzigZ's Taproom
- Thai Connection
- Henry Social Club
- Swine & Dine
- 4th Street Bar & Grill
- Black Sheep Pizza
- The Columbus Bar
- Taku Japanese Steakhouse
- The Garage Pub
- Upland Pumphouse
City council passed the ordinance Tuesday and it now heads to the state Alcohol and Tobacco Commission for approval.
Twenty-one Indiana municipalities have approved DORAs. They include Logansport, New Albany, Noblesville, and Speedway.
