The City of Manitowoc is expanding its Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, or DORA.
The area allows visitors to be able to take a drink from a participating business in a transparent cup around a certain portion of downtown Manitowoc.
After approving the area in May last year, the common council approved an ordinance that expands DORA farther east toward the dock of the SS Badger and north up to Park Street.
Visit Manitowoc Executive Director Courtney Hansen tells Seehaferenws.com that it was a great first year for DORA for businesses as well as for public conduct.
“(There were) no issues from a trash perspective, from a public disturbance perspective,” she noted. “Everything went really smoothly.”
The DORA will also become a year-round program starting in 2026.
It will also be extended an extra hour, meaning the refreshment area will be allowed from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. through the new area of downtown.
Hansen explains that the program will self-regulate, especially during the winter months, but it will be available for events like the Lakeshore Holiday Parade.
“DORA participating establishments definitely had an interest in doing,” she explained. “That was something when we were surveying them about how 2025 had gone; multiple establishments had brought that up.”
Hansen says next year, Visit Manitowoc and businesses participating in the DORA will want to educate the public more about the area, which will include new signage and a social media toolkit.
“They’ll have social media graphics that they can download from the Google Drive, use on their own social media platforms, and sample photos,” she described. “And later on in the year to next year, we’ll be doing a longer form video that showcases what DORA is, how you can use it.”
If an existing business like PetSkull Brewing or a new business wants to participate in the DORA, they will have to fill out a new application with the city clerk’s office.
Hansen says Visit Manitowoc will keep track of who’s participating on their website at visitmanitowoc.com/dora.
All rules within the DORA will remain, including that drinks must remain within the area and that you cannot take them into another business.
All waste must be disposed of in proper receptacles, and all laws regarding the legal drinking age, public intoxication, and disorderly conduct remain in effect.
