Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas: Why 46 Indiana Cities Have Hopped On So Far

Since July 1st, 2023, Indiana has made it possible for municipalities to establish their own Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas (DORA), which a strong majority of surrounding Indianapolis towns have enthusiastically adopted into their communities, but a much more pressing question remains: why now?

Open-container laws have already been a large debate across Indiana, considering the state is one of the more lenient in comparison to the other 50, but the creation of DORAs in 2015 opened the door to an entirely new path for Indy’s social scene. 

Although the development of DORA laws does not mean open-container restrictions are entirely lifted within the state, it does create a semi-resolution to allow people of age to purchase, consume, and carry alcoholic beverages within a designated zone, and based on the signage displayed on participating businesses, these beverages, held in a properly labeled cup, may also be brought inside the establishment.

One of the first towns to jump at the chance for alcoholic beverage zoning, Shelbyville’s Planning Director, Adam Rude, said the city faced very little pushback when the opportunity arose.

“We met with all the downtown restaurants, all the existing liquor license permits, in advance and they had a lot of questions,” Rude said. “They knew there were a lot of rules when it comes to liquor laws, so once they were comfortable with it and understood how it worked, there was honestly no pushback at all. I think at the end of the day, the businesses were happier that a little bit of the red tape disappeared.”

With such positive feedback from Shelbyville’s community, it brings into question why every city in the metropolitan area has not yet embraced the new zoning possibilities. 

Some of the central Indianapolis suburbs, such as Carmel, Pendleton, and Bargersville, have already adopted DORA districts within their functioning social areas, and in the near future, Greenwood and Irvington are both looking to finalize a district for their communities, per the recent passing of ordinances by their respective city councils. 

Beyond the relative positivity in Shelbyville, the participating businesses have also showcased significant growth and support due to their DORA program. In total, there are six permittees in Shelbyville’s DORA zone; however, the ability to expand not only the zone itself, but also the amount of contributing businesses allows for continuous developments to the overall size and impact of this newer regulation.

“All of the original permittees are still involved,” Rude said, “but there have been a few new retail establishments that have joined in, as well as a list of temporary vendors that come for events because it’s easier than it ever was to opt them in and get them licensed to operate in that DORA district.”

On the note of expansion, Westfield’s two different DORA districts, downtown and Grand Park, are proof of just how quickly these participating municipalities are experiencing economic and social boosts in their communities.

“When we launched [our downtown DORA location] we had 7 or 8 businesses, so we were very intentional about making sure we went around to all of the businesses that were in downtown at the time to talk to them about it,” Westfield Director of Communications Kayla Arnold said. “Since then, we’ve had some businesses that are new to the downtown area, like Blacksheep Pizza, Sun King, and H Steakhouse, that have opened over the last 6-8 months and we’ve added them to the DORA.”

Amounting to 10 total permittees in the downtown district, Westfield’s current momentum doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon, and a part of that is due to their free and easy permitting process. 

“It’s relatively easy to get involved,” Arnold said. “All of the businesses that we’ve worked with already have a permit from the ATC, so they’re already permitted to sell alcohol. It’s really just an additional application for them to fill out and there’s no cost associated with that, whether it’s from the city or the state.”

Although each DORA location has its own specificity involved with obtaining a permit and fully participating in their city’s zone, there are statewide regulations that each city council must incorporate into their procedures—one of those being signage and clarification of involvement.

Following each business’ approval from the state, “the ATC issues a new liquor permit for them that shows they’re a DORA permittee,” Arnold said, “and then once we get that notification from the state, we get them connected with our cups and marketing materials to help get them launched.”

Overall, each district has the three different labels, “not permitted, sold here, and welcome,” to designate each businesses’ level of involvement with the zoning, and then the city itself has post-markings to indicate the zone boundaries. Not necessarily a set-in-stone protocol, each location has a semblance of freedom in their designs for such materials, specifically when the city sports a certain theme or scheme in their personal signage. 

Within the three years that Indiana has allowed DORA districts, a total of 46 have emerged across the state, with new proposals popping up the longer Hoosiers see how impactful this venture is on their communities.

“In general, it’s just a good tool for our community,” Rude said. “From the different festivals, the different organizers downtown, and the different businesses, I think they would all tell you that as well, and that’s become more and more evident as more communities adopt these because you can see the benefits. I’m glad the legislature came around to allowing these tools to be deployed by the cities and towns.”

As more Indiana communities embrace the opportunities that DORA districts bring them, the question is no longer why they work in societal growth, but which cities will be the next to make the jump toward reform.