For the first time ever, Fort Wayne will have a permanent designated area downtown where people can drink alcoholic beverages outside.
The Fort Wayne City Council passed a bill that established a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, that extends from Parkview Field to Promenade Park, as far east as Calhoun Street and as far west as Ewing Street.
The ordinance called for officials with Downtown Fort Wayne to distribute DORA branded cups to businesses in the DORA that patrons will use to fill up once with alcohol that they can then take elsewhere in the DORA. That could be outside or inside another establishment if the business allows for it.
At a Q&A session about the new DORA Wednesday, Downtown Fort Wayne Marketing Director Preston Wallace said this won’t change other city drinking laws.
“Once they leave my space, if I haven’t served someone who is underaged or I haven’t over-served someone, that liability is going to fall on that individual and not the business owner and operator themselves,” Wallace said. “So, no, it doesn’t change any of that.”
Businesses in the DORA do not have to allow alcohol in their establishments. Officials said they will distribute signage that marks the edge of the DORA including for businesses that choose not to participate.
At Wednesday’s Q&A session, business owners asked Downtown Fort Wayne, excise police and city government officials about the logistics of what the new DORA will require. They asked questions like whether or not a business could participate in a part-time manner, only allowing alcohol on their property during festivals or other events.
Officials said that option is still being worked out.
Another business asked if the DORA would be expanded in the future or if the city would create a new one.
Officials said since the DORA in question has not yet launched, there are no plans to expand yet, but expansion is possible.
Authorities said businesses licensed to only serve beer and wine would need to turn away someone with a DORA cup full of liquor. Excise police said they would take a “common sense” approach to violations. They said if a business is clearly making an effort to uphold the rules it's bound to and misses one or two people, they would likely not give that business a citation, but if they go through a business and find 30 or 40 violators, then the business would be liable.
Officials told business owners to call the Fort Wayne Police Department if they see a large group of people violating the DORA perimeter.
Ben Hall from Hall’s Restaurants said in the long run, the DORA will probably be good for the community, but he said he’s worried about the rollout.
“You’re going to have, probably, some complications on having discussions with customers that would want to bring a drink into your place from another place and trying to work through that,” Hall said. “So, there’s going to be a learning curve.”
Officials said they hope to distribute the cups and launch the new DORA in early May.