Metro city to expand area you can have open container of alcohol -- but not everyone is onboard

Gainesville is expanding the area where you can walk with an open container of alcohol.

But one Gainesville resident is not happy about it.

The area is expanding near a church mission, whose director is concerned about the enlarged dining district.

“I don’t want people with alcohol walking up and down the road here,” said Mitch Gowan, director of the Gainesville Baptist Mission, which works with the homeless and recovering addicts. He told Gainesville city council Tuesday that extending the district, which includes three more restaurants and bars, is “problematic.”

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Mayor Sam Couvillon told Channel 2′s Brian Mims he is thankful for all the mission does, but doesn’t think the dining district will thwart its efforts.

“If they have people who are going to leave the ministry, they can go into an establishment whether it’s a downtown dining district or not,” he said.

Gainesville established its downtown dining district in 2017 and nearly doubled its size last year. On Tuesday night, council members voted to extend it south of Banks Street and into the Midland area to include three businesses: Blackstrap, Inked Pig, and Remedy Distillery.

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Within the dining district, you can legally carry a 16-ounce plastic cup of alcohol between noon and midnight.

“Our businesses feel like it’s been a win for them,” Couvillon said. “It’s made our downtown a more vibrant and desirable place to go.”

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Jim Tortorelli owns three restaurants and bars in Gainesville and said the dining district has been a boon for downtown. “It’s brought a lot of connectivity to the city, it’s brought a lot of people out on the streets,” he said. “It keeps people interacting rather than just coming down, getting something, and leaving.”

Couvillon said he plans to meet with Gowan soon to discuss ways the city can better help the mission reach its goals.

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