City seeking new outdoor drinking area for Uptown
City Council sets April 15 public hearing to decide on the district proposed near Main and Franklin streets.
Centerville is looking to create its second outdoor drinking area, this one in a portion of the city’s Uptown.
The 16.4-acre designated outdoor refreshment area, or DORA, would include the commercial area of Uptown surrounding the Franklin Street and Main Street intersection, stretching as far as Virginia Avenue in the west, Maple Avenue in the east, Cranston Court to the south and just south of East Ridgeway Drive to the north.
Centerville City Council voted Monday night to set an April 15 public hearing for the district. If approved by council, the DORA should be operational by early summer, officials said.
The proposed outdoor drinking area would operate from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Establishments that would be able to sell drinks within the new DORA will include Agave & Rye, The Brunch Pub, City Barbeque, Crabshire’s Tavern, MacDigger’s Pub, Manna Uptown, Meridien and Nelly’s: A Taste of Bolivia.
“The DORA will enhance the Uptown Action Plan by creating a unique experience for customers and residents, enhance the vibrancy of Uptown, and capitalize on recent business development,” Centerville Economic Development Administrator Joey O’Brien said in a Feb. 29 letter to City Manager Wayne Davis.
O’Brien told this news outlet that the outdoor drinking area is “a community-driven initiative.”
“For years, business owners choosing to operate in Uptown and the families who choose to dine, shop and relax at those businesses have asked when we could open a DORA,” he said. “It was important to be thoughtful and deliberate, and the time is right.”
The outdoor drinking area concept first launched in Ohio in 2015 as an economic development tool and a way to garner
exposure for communities and businesses. The list of communities that have enacted them so far includes, but is not limited to, Cincinnati, Dayton, Fairborn, Hamilton, Lebanon, Mason, Miamisburg, Miami Twp., Middletown, Springboro and Springfield.
They allow restaurants or businesses with liquor licenses to sell alcoholic beverages in designated plastic cups. Beverages served may be taken off premise and consumed within designated areas that are indicated by signage.
Centerville launched its first DORA last year within the commercial and parkland area of the Cornerstone of Centerville mixeduse development at the intersection of Feedwire Road and Wilmington Pike.
“To date, we have had no issues or concerns with the Cornerstone DORA,” said city spokeswoman Kate Bostdorff.