Uptown DORA Up For Renewal - Gallon Jug Greenhouses and Horses - Foggy Westerville
Westerville council set to renew Uptown DORA at five-year mark
Today in Uptown Westerville, it is common to see individuals carrying beer or wine along State Street. A generation ago, this would have conflicted with the city’s reputation as the “Dry Capital of the World.”
City Council is expected to vote Tuesday on renewing Uptown Westerville’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA, five years after its establishment.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Westerville was home to the Anti-Saloon League, which helped drive the national push for Prohibition. The city became synonymous with the temperance movement and opposition to alcohol sales.
The DORA, launched in June 2021, allows patrons to purchase alcoholic beverages from participating establishments and carry them within a defined Uptown boundary during posted hours. Under Ohio law, the council must periodically review the program and vote to continue or dissolve it.
In a report to the council, city staff state that DORA has operated as intended, with police, fire/EMS, and service departments reporting no significant incidents or concerns that would require changes.
Visitors can now move between restaurants, shops, and events in Uptown with drinks purchased from participating businesses.
A DORA provides a limited exception to Ohio’s open container law within a clearly marked area. Drinks must be purchased from approved establishments, served in designated cups displaying district rules, and consumed within posted boundaries and hours.
The Ohio Department of Commerce recently featured Uptown Westerville in a video explaining DORAs statewide. Officials described the program as an economic development tool for downtown districts. Uptown was highlighted as a successful example, with patrons noted as respectful and compliant.
Uptown Westerville Inc., which administers the DORA with city oversight, stated the program was designed to encourage visitors to stay in the district longer.
“It’s actually more of a sip and stroll than a pound-you-drink-at-the-bar,” said Lynn Aventino, executive director of the organization.
She explained that the goal is to allow patrons waiting for restaurant tables or attending events to circulate through Uptown rather than leave the area.
Uptown Westerville Inc. supplies many participating establishments with the required DORA cups. Aventino noted that demand has been steady, with the organization purchasing approximately 82,000 cups last year.
“Eighty-two thousand cups, I think I bought last year,” she said. “They’re not all used, but every time I turn around, I just bought 20,000, and they’re like, ‘Oh, you’re out of cups.’”
She added that some establishments use their own approved cup systems, so the figure does not represent the total number of drinks sold. However, it indicates consistent participation in the program.
City staff concluded that DORA has supported economic activity in Uptown and aligns with the council’s goal of maintaining an “Authentic and Alive Uptown.”
When the district was created, boundaries were set to avoid school and library properties, limit encroachment into residential areas, and exclude parking lots. This structure was intended to discourage patrons from walking to vehicles with open containers or discarding cups before driving.
The boundary has been adjusted as Uptown has grown, with additions such as Ampersand at 32 W. College Ave.
Separately, Uptown Westerville Inc. is working with state officials to explore expanding alcohol offerings at the annual Uptown Untapped festival.
Organizers hope to include wine and spirits in addition to beer. This requires navigating Ohio liquor control regulations for temporary permits, especially for events held in parking lots.
“It’s not that they don’t want you to do it,” Aventino said. “They just want you to do it legally — and we want to do it that way too.”
Uptown Westerville earns national accreditation
Uptown Westerville has received National Accreditation through the Ohio Main Street Program, Heritage Ohio announced this week.
The designation follows a full-day evaluation assessing the organization’s effectiveness in downtown revitalization. To qualify, programs must meet national standards that include grassroots revitalization efforts, public-private partnerships, support for small businesses, and preservation of historic assets.
Westerville joined the Ohio Main Street Program in 2023.
Heritage Ohio serves as the state’s coordinating agency for Main Street America and promotes historic preservation and downtown economic development across Ohio.
Gallon Jug Greenhouses, With Horses
Sustainable Westerville held a program on Sunday to teach residents how to turn gallon plastic jugs into greenhouses for wildflower seeds that the group collects each year. They used the jugs as a teaching tool to encourage people to plant native wildflowers in their yards.
Organizer Bethany Vosburg-Bluem said they came prepared with 100 one-gallon jugs, enough potting soil, and seeds to let people take home more than one small greenhouse.
The event was held at the Otterbein Equine Center, where, after assembling the wildflower greenhouses, everyone had the opportunity to tour the stables and arena, which serve as a demonstration project dedicated to “best practices” in equine management. It is an educational facility accessible to the equine industry and the local community, offering Otterbein a way to connect with the public through a program that educates on pasture, manure, and water quality management, as well as facility management practices.
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