Cleveland City Council's safety committee approved an ordinance to turn Playhouse Square into a designated outdoor refreshment area (DORA).
The ordinance would apply to certain large events, stretching across Chester Avenue to the north, just south of Euclid Avenue.
It's now headed to the development and planning committee, then to the finance committee. After that, council will take a vote.
On Thursday, there was a public hearing where those for and against the DORA could voice their opinions. No one showed up, so News 5's Kaylee Olivas caught up with Playhouse Square CEO Craig Hassall.
He said having a DORA in Playhouse Square has been at the forefront of future planning for the last two years.
"We wanna be just cautious about rolling it out so we do it properly in a way that suits the public and suits the vendors and everyone as well," Hassall said. "The most immediate need is for people who are having a drink in a bar inside our lobby to take that beverage into the corridor and keep drinking. That's it. It's so simple. We thought, well, that's a problem to solve with a DORA."
Hassall knocked on wood so as not to jinx the validation he received Wednesday when the city's Safety Committee approved an ordinance for the DORA.
"It's been a really smooth process so far and I have to say, that one of the motivations for having a DORA was supporting the mayor's vision of, you know, more pedestrian friendly, active streets," Hassall said.
There is another DORA in the works for East Fourth Street, but it won't be active until Halloween at the earliest. The latest timeline pushes it back to the spring of 2027.
RELATED: East Fourth Street to allow open container drinking as early as this fall
There are other nearby DORAs, including in the Cedar Lee District in Cleveland Heights and in the Van Aken District in Shaker Heights.
Van Aken District General Manager Jesse Rathner said the last several years have proven that the plaza's DORA has boosted the economy and foot traffic.
He said every 18 months, the district pours roughly 100,000 alcoholic beverages through DORA.
"For executing the DORA program, probably the heavier lift is actually just, you know, getting the approval through the ordinance, through, you know, getting your community's cooperation. Once you have that, it's, you know, coordinating those efforts," Rathner said.
The Van Aken District takes on the responsibility of facilitating the specific cups used for DORA.
"We take on a decent responsibility of trying to support our merchants," Rathner said.
Not only are there mandatory cups to be used through the program, but there are also indication markers, which show customers where DORA starts and ends.
"There's placards up that lets you know what is and is not a DORA zone, you know, obvious reasons, the garage and parking lots are not DORA approved areas because you don't want drinking and driving," Rathner said. "If you're within the boundaries of that, as long as your beverage is within one of those cups, it's approved. The only way you're getting one of those cups is that you got it from somebody who has a liquor license and the legal authorization to pour that beverage."
As for security, Rathner said the district plans accordingly when there are events happening and staffs more than enough personnel.
Given everything he's experienced since DORA, he believes Playhouse Square may be suitable.
"Getting DORA is gonna open a lot of opportunities for them. I think that what that enables them to do is potentially do more things outside this time of year under the chandelier, which I think is awesome. People want to be outside at this time of year. It's iconic," Rathner said. "It just kind of creates an added appeal and you can enjoy the experience without necessarily going to the theater, but you still get that as the backdrop."
We asked if he thought there were any negative impacts to having DORA. He could only think of one potential problem.
"The only downside to it is if you don't think about how to execute it at an operational level. Are you in a place to execute it in the way that you're envisioning it and have you thought about those steps? Because if you don't, then the enforcement of it and the integrity of it could very quickly fall apart," Rathner said.
Hassall told me his team has studied surrounding DORAs and hasn't found any adverse lessons to be learned.
The Playhouse Square DORA would operate roughly the same as the Van Aken District DORA in that there will be specific cups used, indication markers for entry and exit, and security and Cleveland police officers on site.
The one question that needed to be asked of Hassall: What's the guesstimate as to when the DORA may be in full force?
"Don't hold me to this, but I would say it's months, not years. It's around the corner, but I wouldn't want to second guess the final result, except to say that it's been so well supported every step of the way. I can't imagine, touch wood, there being a massive hurdle which would delay its execution now, so yeah, I feel like we're almost at the finish line and that's because people have been so helpful and on board along the way. So yeah, it's been great," Hassall said.
In April, Playhouse Square estimated that about 10-15 events per year could trigger the expanded DORA.
It lists things like the Cleveland International Film Festival, Tri-C JazzFest, Saint Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest and an Air Show Watch Party, to name a few.
