LOVELAND, Ohio — Drinking adult beverages outside, in public, was only a dream a decade ago, but now with the new Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area concept, or DORA, cities across the Buckeye State are making that dream a reality.

On Saturday, Adele Stephen-Capal and her dog went to the park in Loveland, but before making her way to the park, she made sure to stop by the Cappy's Wine and Spirits to pick up an adult beverage. It's a bar in Loveland’s designated outdoor refreshment area. 

“It’s close to my house,” said Stephen-Capal. “It’s an equal distance between their houses as well and what’s better than walking your dog and drinking a beer at the same time.”

There was a line of traffic Saturday afternoon as people made their way into Loveland for its DORA, and that’s why Stephen-Capal arrived early to enjoy the outdoors and cool drinks. 

“I knew it was going to be busy, but we found parking pretty easily and got our drinks and now we’re off to enjoy the day,” she said. 

Stephen-Capal was one of dozens of people that went to enjoy the DORA in Loveland.

To take part in the experience, people purchase a drink from a participating bar or restaurant, and the patron will receive their drink in a specific white DORA cup. They are then permitted to drink the beverage outdoors in the designated DORA area. 

“When it first started in the middle of COVID, you could get a drink in a restaurant or bar and get out into the fresh air where you could take your mask off,” she said. “You could feel safer about enjoying a drink with your friends.” 

The DORA was first introduced in Loveland in May 2020 with more than 10 participating restaurants and bars. What was once a temporary thing for special events throughout the year, turned into something that now happens all year. 

“It was so successful, so welcomed by both our residents, and of course, we get a lot of visitors that city council then ultimately made that a permanent thing,” said Kennedy. 

Loveland City Manager Dave Kennedy is in the process of proposing new things for the DORA, including new seating options and a new cafe outside of city hall — an exciting thing for people, like Stephen-Capal, who look forward to visiting Loveland for all it has to offer.

 “I know a lot of cities in the area have DORA, but I just really like Loveland because there’s a lot of things to do,” she said. “There’s the bike trail, you can rent bikes. You can walk around on the bike trail. There’s a bunch of restaurants.”