The city’s common council on Monday gave first reading to an ordinance creating a DORA, which stands for Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area. It would let you take alcoholic drinks bought at participating bars and restaurants outside within the area’s boundaries.
Mike Huber is the city’s director of development services. He emphasized this program is not an open alcohol policy.
”It provides a little bit of relief if I want to leave an eating and dining establishment with my drink, as long as it’s in a prescribed, approved cup of a certain amount and I have to stay within a certain boundary, an area,” Huber says.
Huber says the effort is primarily aimed at enhancing the experience at outdoor events, like Jazz Fest or Art Walk.
“Mainly events that we’ve already had happening, where you have kind of these confined biergarten areas," Huber says. "All of the sudden you don’t need the confined biergarten areas anymore.”
A handful of Indiana cities have DORAs, including Mishawaka, which launched theirs in 2024 and expanded it a few months later.
