More than three years after Cleveland City Council gave it the green light, the East 4th Street designated outdoor refreshment area still isn't pouring. The holdup is construction in the old valet lot, where a sports-bar-and-ice-cream concept called The Dugout is going in before the city's first legal outdoor drinking district can open for business.
The East 4th Street DORA has approval from the city, but it has not opened because of construction and new development happening in the corridor, according to FOX 8 News. The DORA was first announced back in spring 2023, and it's designed to cover the East 4th Street district end to end, letting patrons carry drinks bought from participating bars and restaurants in designated DORA cups as they wander between venues.
Cleveland City Council actually approved East 4th Street as the city's first designated outdoor refreshment area in June 2023, according to Ideastream Public Media. The approved boundaries ran between Prospect and Euclid avenues, with hours originally set for 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., per FOX 8 News' earlier reporting on the council vote.
The Dugout Is the Bottleneck
The Dugout construction is what's actually preventing the DORA from opening until the work is finished, the station's report notes. The venue is being built as a seasonal, park-inspired outdoor space aimed at families and sports fans, going into the current valet area off East 4th Street — a project first detailed by cleveland.com back in December 2024, when it described an outdoor sports bar and ice cream concept slated for that lot.
Hangry Brands is behind The Dugout, along with several other East 4th Street staples including Jolene's Honky Tonk, Society Lounge and The Corner Alley. Sweet Marie's Ice Cream is set to open as part of the new space. The Dugout and other street-wide promotions are among the plans for East 4th Street.
Jason Beudert, founder of Hangry Brands, said The Dugout is not ready to launch yet, per the same account, but he projected the project would be complete in about six weeks. He said the venue is meant to be an outdoor spot for years to come once it finally opens, and that he expects the DORA will happen when the time is right rather than on a forced deadline.
A Timeline That Keeps Slipping
This isn't the first projected opening date to come and go. The DORA was originally expected to debut in spring of 2024, according to FOX 8's earlier coverage of the council vote, while Cleveland Magazine later reported a mid-2025 debut for The Dugout itself. More recently, Cleveland Scene reported that Jonathan Seeholzer of MRN told News 5 in April that East 4th's DORA could begin operating that fall or in 2027.
Construction crews are currently working in the southern end of the DORA park area, the space previously used for valet parking, according to signage posted by East 4th Street. Pedestrian access through that construction zone is not permitted, and the valet drop-off and pickup zone has been temporarily relocated to Prospect Avenue at the intersection with East 3rd Street. Valet service itself was relocated off East 4th Street and now operates at Prospect Avenue and East 3rd Street.
The East 4th Street district may instead open next spring. Once active, the DORA would let patrons move between participating venues with drinks in designated cups.
Why the Timing Still Matters to Fans
Downtown foot traffic has plenty of fuel right now. The Cleveland Guardians are in the middle of the pennant race, the Cleveland Browns are playing above expectations, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are about to start regular-season play — a combination that keeps drawing crowds through East 4th Street regardless of whether the DORA cups are flowing yet.
East 4th Street is still waiting for the DORA to open.
How East 4th Fits the Bigger DORA Picture
Cleveland may have up to six DORAs under state population-based regulations, Ideastream Public Media reported at the time of the 2023 approval, and East 4th Street was meant to be the first of them. Other DORAs operate elsewhere in Cuyahoga County, per cleveland.com's reporting. Statewide, Ohio had 180 DORAs as of Cleveland Scene's report, with foot-traffic gains noted in Middletown, Canton, Westerville and Hamilton.
The stakes for downtown Cleveland retail add some context to the wait. About 40 percent of storefronts between East 4th Street and Playhouse Square were reported to be empty or inactive, according to Cleveland Scene, and stakeholders have pointed to DORA-style foot traffic as one possible boost. Middletown reportedly saw 18 new businesses open in or near its DORA district after launch, and participating businesses in Canton saw sales increases of up to 30 percent, per the same outlet's reporting.
Under Ohio law, once an outdoor refreshment area is approved, the state's Division of Liquor Control is required to issue an outdoor refreshment area designation to each qualified permit holder within the district as soon as possible, according to the Ohio Revised Code. Ohio law requires an application for a DORA to include proposed health and safety requirements, and approval of the application constitutes the outdoor refreshment area. For East 4th Street, the opening remains tied to a construction schedule still measured in weeks, not days — leaving the city's first DORA, for now, still a drink cup dream.
