Miamisburg businesses want hours extended for outdoor drinking area

MIAMISBURG — Business owners are hoping the outdoor drinking area created in downtown Miamisburg last year can extend its hours and number of days each week.

The city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, launched downtown in July 2021 with hours of 4 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays, noon to 11 p.m. Saturdays and 4 to 9 p.m. Sundays.

Casey Goode, a representative for downtown Miamisburg’s Ron’s Pizza, said the business and other liquor license holders in town want to talk with the city about extending DORA hours to 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week “just because we think those are easy numbers,” but he added that whatever city council is willing to do would be “awesome.”

“Mostly what it comes down to is there’s just a lot of confusion about the hours, and we just think it would be easier for staff and the community just have set hours Monday through Sunday,” Goode said . “They’d be the same every single day, not kind of jump around and it’s just confusing.

Goode said she reached out to every liquor license holder in the DORA, and no one spoke against the change in hours or addition of days.

City council member Mike McCabe said he has spoken to participating businesses on numerous occasions.

“They’ve shared the difficulties that the weird hours cause,” he said. “It causes employee confusion, it causes participants some confusion.”

Goode agrees.

“You don’t want to argue with your customers and then they’re confused, and some nights,” Goode said. “... especially in the summertime, when you have college students that are on your staff that are only here for a couple months and then they’re confused about when the hours are.”

Mayor Michelle Collins said the proposed 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. hours are typical for daily set hours with other outdoor drinking areas around Ohio.

Goode said the only time DORA is “a big deal” is when the city holds events. She said she hasn’t seen people take advantage of the DORA as much she thought they would, but extending the hours could change that.

“I think it’d be nice if somebody wants to come down on a Tuesday and grab a couple hamburgers from the Hamburger Wagon and grab a beer and go sit in the park,” Goode said.

There is no council action scheduled regarding extending DORA hours and no recommendation from the oversight committee imminent on the matter, according to Miamisburg spokesman Gary Giles.

“As the committee begins meeting again in the new year, members will continue to review all aspects of our DORA,” Giles said Wednesday. “You could expect the hours of operation to be among those aspects.”

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