‘Extremely excited;’ New DORA may be coming to Centerville uptown district

CENTERVILLE — A new outdoor drinking area could be coming to Centerville’s uptown district in hopes of bringing more business to the area.

Many people feel that the uptown district is the heart of Centerville, and many welcome the DORA coming.

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A DORA or a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area is an area where alcoholic beverages may be sold by licensed liquor establishments for outdoor consumption.

City leaders say they want to make sure people here stay and spend money where they live.

“I’m excited about it. We’ve lived here for six years and there hasn’t been my time here. There hasn’t always been a ton of options and things to do,” Centerville Resident John Borns said.

Borns has kids, and he and his wife like to have date nights. But they feel like they have to travel to do so.

“My wife I want to go out and have a nice night away from the kids or anything. It’s we had to go to Springboro or go to other places to have more options,” Borns said.

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The city is also excited about the opportunities the DORA will bring.

“Restaurants are extremely, extremely excited to take advantage of it. And the retailers in Uptown also feel that their bottom lines will benefit from this program,” Joey O’Brien with the City of Centerville said.

The new DORA is part of the City of Centerville’s uptown action plan. They believe this will help restaurants on Main and Franklin Streets.

This is not the first DORA in the city. The other one is off Wilmington Pike and Feedwire Rd.

“I had no idea there was one over here,” Centerville Resident Marcus Jordan said.

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The new DORA will span a four-block stretch. The main cross-section is in the heart of uptown from Maple Ave to Virginia Ave with a big portion being on Main Street.

“Myself I’m not a big drinker but I’m sure there are plenty of people who would enjoy that,” Jordan said.

Centerville said there will be police and city staff to monitor the quarter-mile radius.

“It’s not a huge concern of mine. Centerville has a good police department here and we pay good taxes so hopefully they’ll be able to keep it in order,” Borns said.

Centerville City Council will consider the proposal on April 15.

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