Visitors to downtown Portage may soon be able to take their drinks from one bar to another.
The city council is considering establishing a "designated outdoor refreshment area" (DORA). That would allow those age 21 and up to buy alcoholic beverages from a participating vendor and carry them outside or into another participating business.
Mayor Austin Bonta says the proposed area includes Founders Square and the row of bars at the Portage Mall. "Technically speaking, you'd be able to walk from Big Time to Stone Quarry," Bonta told council members Tuesday. "I think, in practice, I don't think we're going to see a lot of that, early on. That's more planning ahead for as the east side of the mall and the space between the mall and Founders Square redevelops."
The DORA would also allow drinks purchased at the Market on the Square event to be taken out of the beer garden. "[If] they want to buy a beer and they want to take it out of that area to watch the movie while drinking a beer, you could do that under this," Bonta explained. "You don't have to be en route from one place to another."
But council member Bob Parnell worried about allowing people to take their drinks out of the beer garden and into Founders Square. "The possibility of more people roaming around Founders Square on a Friday night or Saturday night during movie night when all the children are there, increase the possibility of more people who've had too much to drink around all the children, that concerns me," Parnell said.
Similarly, council member Penny Ambler worried that people recovering from substance use disorder would no longer feel comfortable attending events there, although a representative from the Portage Recovery Association didn't have any immediate concerns.
Meanwhile, council member Gina Giese-Hurst felt it could be a positive environment. "I have been to an area with this, and it was actually very nice because there was kids out there playing the bean bag games or whatever as family, with the dogs and their pets and so forth," Giese-Hurst said.
As proposed, Portage's DORA would be in effect Sundays through Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., and Fridays and Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. The city would place 17 signs throughout the area, and participating businesses would have to post signs at their entrances and exits. Three businesses are listed in the ordinance, but more could be added later. Bonta said the council could also add more restrictions, like requiring businesses to use special plastic cups, rather than glasses.
The ordinance could be up for final approval as soon as December 3.
DORAs have been allowed in Indiana since 2023. So far, Griffith is the only Northwest Indiana community that has one. Discussions are also underway in Highland.
