Columbus Common Council voted 8-0 Tuesday to advance an ordinance that would expand the boundaries of the Downtown Columbus Social District, paving the way for the historic Inn at Irwin Gardens to join the city's open-container refreshment zone. The council member representing the district, Elaine Hilber, was absent for the vote. Final action on the measure could come as soon as November 4.
The proposal would extend the district known officially as the Downtown Columbus Social District, commonly called a Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area or DORA, east along 6th Street to Pearl Street and south to 5th Street, according to The Republic News. That one-block extension would bring the Inn at Irwin Gardens, a three-story, 13,000-square-foot bed-and-breakfast at 608 Fifth St., inside the district as a permanent permittee. As mojo1029.com reported, the extension would encompass the inn's grounds within the refreshment footprint.
The ordinance would also add three other businesses as designated permittees: Fraternal Order of Eagles No. 741 at 930 Washington St., St. Denis – Wine Books and Wonders at 426 Washington St., and The Forge on 4th at 418 Fourth St. Once the additions are finalized, the district is expected to include 18 designated businesses. Mojo1029.com has reported that other previously approved vendors in the district include The Forge on 4th Street, the Fraternal Order of Eagles and St. Denis Wine Books and Wonders.
Nearby School and Church Raised No Objections
Two institutions sit near the proposed boundary expansion: Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and St. Peter's Lutheran Church and School both submitted written statements saying they did not object to the proposed changes. Deputy City Attorney Austin Whitted said the boundary extension ends at the sidewalk on the opposite sides of the school and church properties. That lines up with how city staff have described the district's design elsewhere, with boundary lines terminating at sidewalks across adjacent streets specifically to keep surrounding institutional properties outside the refreshment zone, per mojo1029.com's reporting.
Jody Coffman, the city's community development specialist, said the community is still surprised by the social district but that people seem excited about it. Coffman also said multiple events this year have used the district, with events increasingly drawing on more than one vendor at a time.
How the Social District Actually Works
Indiana law has allowed municipalities to create Designated Outdoor Refreshment Areas since July 2023, when Indiana Code 7.1-3-31 took effect, according to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission. Within the Columbus district's boundaries, people 21 and older may buy drinks from approved vendors and retailers and carry them for consumption anywhere inside the marked area, though individual businesses retain the right to refuse entry to customers carrying alcohol. Drinks must be served in a designated Downtown Columbus Social District cup or an approved container bearing the district's decal, and participating businesses display a window cling near their entrance.
There are limits built into the system. Patrons may not consume alcohol purchased outside the refreshment area, and permittees and vendors may let customers leave with no more than two open containers at a time. Glass containers are barred from the district generally and are allowed only within a designated permittee's outdoor dining area. The district itself operates seven days a week, 365 days a year, from 10 a.m. to midnight, as The Republic News has reported.
Signage Set to Change as District Grows
The city is working with Downtown 2030 to update district signage, shifting toward ground-based visual markers at the district's start and end points rather than the overhead signs used now. Businesses seeking designated permittee status must submit an application to the city and receive a recommendation from the Board of Works before winning approval — the same process used in April 2025, when the Board of Public Works and Safety recommended adding Hotel Indigo, White Star Meat Market and Lucianas Mexican Restaurant as permanent permittees.
Temporary vendors can also join in for special events. Businesses holding a temporary beer or wine permit, a supplemental catering permit or a craft manufacturer's permit may submit a special event permit application and a state DORA designation form for each occasion, with those applications weighed for approval by the Board of Works. Temporary vendor locations approved for such events have included stretches of Washington Street, Fourth Street and Sixth Street, along with spots such as the Fifth Street Library Plaza, Sixth Street Arts Alley, the Mill Race Park amphitheater area and the Plaza on the People Trail connection.
Once the city council gives final approval, any new designations must be submitted to the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission so the agency can update its official city DORA map. The Inn at Irwin Gardens' potential entry into the social district comes two years after the property discontinued its first-floor tours and public garden hours due to staffing issues, a move co-owner Jessica Stevens said at the time was not necessarily permanent, with the possibility that the gardens could reopen to the public down the road, according to The Republic's 2024 reporting.
