New alcohol law will change drinking in Columbus if councilors approve this proposal
The Columbus Council is considering a proposed law that would change the downtown experience.
The proposal would amend the Columbus Consolidated Government Code by adding in a new section to provide outdoor consumption of alcohol in a designated entertainment district. The boundaries of the proposed district are from the south side of Ninth Street to the north side of 14th Street and from the east side of Broadway to the west side of Bay Avenue and Front Avenue.
Outdoor consumption of alcohol in the district would be allowed with the following restrictions:
- Licensed establishments within the district could provide alcohol in an approved container for carryout.
- Limited to one 16-ounce, shatter-proof container per person legally allowed to drink alcohol.
- Uptown Columbus Inc., which promotes downtown vibrancy, would be responsible for the distribution of stickers or other means for identifying qualified open containers in the district.
- Outdoor consumption from such containers would be limited to the boundaries of the district between the hours of 11 a.m. and 11 p.m.
Niki Gedroic, owner of downtown restaurants Smoke Bourbon & BBQ and Vertigo Fusion Kitchen, welcomes the proposal’s expansion of options for residents and visitors to enjoy alcohol.
“I know there are people down here who believe it’s a bad idea because they think it’s going to cause a regression, that we’ll go back to the uptown of the Nineties and the early 2000s, where uptown was a frightening place to be,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer. “But, what I see is, if I’m a person who goes into a place at 11 o’clock on Saturday morning and has a lunch and maybe a beer or a cocktail, and I go, ‘Oh, look, we’ve got 20 minutes to walk through the market. I can take that beer with me while I walk through the Uptown Market.’”
Gedroic gave another example of the impact if the proposal is implemented.
“If I have tickets to the Springer and I’m at the Black Cow,” she said, “and my plan is to walk to the Springer, and for whatever reason the restaurant I’m eating at might be having a day where things are slow because they’re just so busy, and they bring my last glass of wine I ordered, maybe it took 10 minutes to get it, now they have a choice to send it back because they can’t drink it or slam it because, technically in Columbus, all alcohol sales are final, or leave it on the table and lose the $10.
“Now, on a beautiful day, I can take that glass of wine and sip it as I casually walk to the Springer. So there’s a chance a person might have had only one cocktail, now they might have two in the restaurant because they know they can walk to their ultimate destination with that cocktail in their hand.”
Gedroic, however, objects to the district’s proposed boundaries, which include Smoke on Broadway but exclude Vertigo and four other restaurants on 12th Street, east of Broadway. That’s why she wants the eastern boundary extended to Second Avenue.
“There’s collectively more businesses off Broadway than on,” she said. “… By drawing the line on Broadway and saying nothing past here, it affects all the restaurants on 12th Street and all the restaurants on First Avenue and all the restaurants on the side streets. The impact is huge. Why should I as a customer step onto 12th Street to go to the Animal Farm or the Black Cow or Vertigo or the Bodega if all the fun is on Broadway?”
Origin of the proposal
Pam Hodge, deputy city manager for finance, planning and development, told the L-E the idea of downtown entertainment district has been discussed since 2018. The request from passenger-powered party bike company Pedal Pub to expand its business into downtown Columbus prompted the entertainment district proposal to become a front-burner issue.
Based on a request from District 7 Councilor Mimi Woodson, who represents the targeted area, instead of creating a narrowly tailored ordinance specifically accommodating the Pedal Pub, the city administration decided to recommend establishing an entertainment district to make regulating open containers of alcohol easier to enforce and create more of a welcoming environment, Hodge said.
“You see a lot of cities, like Savannah and Nashville, taking that next step,” she said. “… It’s allowing Columbus to move up to how those other cities offer amenities and opportunities and experiences. With all the growth in the uptown area and the success, this is just the next step.”
Feedback the city administration heard during two public meetings it conducted about the proposal, including Gedroic’s objection to the boundaries, “is being reviewed,” Hodge said.
Columbus councilors react to proposal
Columbus Council is scheduled to consider the proposal in a continuation of its first reading during the Oct. 25 meeting. The council could vote on the proposal as soon as Nov. 8.
The L-E asked the 10 Columbus councilors and Mayor Skip Henderson, who votes only to break a tie, whether they support the proposal and why. The result: It’s too soon to be certain the proposal has enough votes to pass, but none of them expressed opposition to it.
Henderson, Woodson, citywide councilor Judy Thomas, Pops Barnes of District 1 and Toyia Tucker of District 4 didn’t reply to the L-E’s voicemail and email before publication.
Citywide councilor John House said in a text message, “I support the change so that the Pedal Pub can operate.”
District 2 councilor Glenn Davis said he is in favor of the concept, but he wants the proposed boundaries to be expanded to include more businesses, and he wants to know whether Uptown endorses the proposal before he can fully support it.
The L-E didn’t reach Uptown Columbus president and CEO Ed Wolverton for comment before publication.
District 3 councilor Bruce Huff said he wants to talk with Hodge and city attorney Clifton Fay before forming his opinion about the proposal.
District 5 councilor Charmaine Crabb favors the proposed law.
“It sounds like businesses feel like it would enhance their business,” she said. “I don’t want to block that. … I haven’t heard any business or received a call from anyone that they don’t support it.”
District 6 councilor Gary Allen said in an email, “I prefer not to acknowledge how I plan to vote. As Council talks through issues over the years, several times questions or concerns are raised that cause one to revisit the position taken.”
District 8 councilor Walker Garrett supports the proposal.
“It allows people to walk around downtown and go from business to business without having to wait until they finish something at another restaurant,” he said. “They can visit multiple establishments, shop, be entertained.”
Garrett noted some folks already are consuming alcohol outdoors downtown beyond an event or a restaurant by concealing it in their own container.
“I mean, people fill up their YETI cups when they go to (outdoor) concerts,” he said. “They bring coolers. … There aren’t cops going up to you and asking, ‘What’s in your YETI?’ This is a way to actually put a little more structure on what’s already happening.
“It’s going to make it a lot easier to see somebody who is illegally drinking because you’re going to have to have the sticker or the unique cup. Maybe the police will be more open to going up to someone and seeing if they’re illegally consuming alcohol under the ordinance. … This would just make it regulated so that we can actually police it.”
Gedroic put that thought another way: “It’s not like we’d be giving people permission to walk around with a cooler and slam beers downtown.”
Asked whether the Columbus Police Department supports the proposal, CPD spokeswoman Brittany Santiago told the L-E in an email, “There is still a lot to unpack in terms of the process and logistics of a pedal pub operating within our city limits. However, we understand the decision is in the initial phases. Whatever vote is decided in the future, we want to ensure everyone that the safety of our city, citizens and visitors is our top priority”.
VisitColumbusGa president and CEO Peter Bowden supports the proposal.
“It makes Columbus more appealing as a visitor destination within the Entertainment District,” he told the L-E in an email. “Monitoring it will be important so as to keep the best of the experience out there for all to enjoy. We’re confident that all of these things have been considered.”
This story was originally published October 21, 2022 at 11:39 AM.
