Orlando city leaders move forward with ordinance that will redefine bars, restaurants, nightclubs
On Monday, Orlando's city council passed a new ordinance that will redefine restaurants, bars and nightclubs.
If you're the owner of a pizza shop in the city of Orlando, then you won't have to follow the same rules as the owner of a nightclub.
The city hopes it'll clear up some blurred lines and protect neighborhoods and customers. The new rules will also go beyond downtown Orlando.
"A lot of times restaurants would start as a restaurant and then it'll become a nightclub after hours,” said Orlando District 4 commissioner Patty Sheehan.
A shooting in downtown Orlando this summer led to more security measures. The idea is to better regulate restaurants, bars and nightclubs in the name of safety.
"It's the after-midnight activities in our downtown, we have not brought forward proposals related to that, but this now gives us the ability separate bars and nightclubs versus restaurants,” Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer said.
Until now, all those places were treated the same way. The city's new ordinance lays out the differences.
To be considered a restaurant, it must serve food as the majority of its business and has to serve it as long as alcohol is served. Restaurants also have to keep chairs and tables in place during hours of operation. Bars do not have to serve food. Nightclubs are defined as including late-night entertainment.
"We wouldn't want to dissuade innovative and very trendy entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs for that matter from being encouraged to have a unique dining experience as opposed to too much restrictions,” said Dominique Greco, founder and executive director of Orlando Hospitality Alliance.
The Orlando Hospitality Alliance has over 200 members. Greco is also the former Orlando nightlife economy manager.
"There is not a one size fits all; there's not one solution but we – the city of Orlando is attempting to take steps in that direction because it has to come from all angles,” Greco said. “It has to come from the regulatory side, it has to come from the enforcement side, it has to come from the entrepreneurs themselves."
The city hopes separating the establishments into three different categories will improve zoning so that anyone who's seeking a license ends up in a neighborhood that will work well with their business.