TOLEDO, Ohio — Starting next Friday, bars and restaurants will be allowed to serve customers again, but only outside.
Some bar and restaurant owners want to see the Downtown Outdoor Refreshment Area district in downtown Toledo and on Adams Street re-instated because they think it will bring in more business and allow more people to social distance while enjoying a drink.
"It's really a unique feature for us to have in downtown Toledo, but also, sales on it are pretty good, the most important thing I've noticed is it relieves congestion inside the bars when people can go outside," James Mettler, Owner of the Cock N' Bull said.
70 percent of their revenue comes from alcohol sales according to Mettler. He would like to see the DORA reinstated before May 15 when places can open for outdoor seating only.
"For me it makes the difference of being open or being closed. I planned when this started to be able to make a makeshift bar on my patio and be able to sell DORA drinks over the rail," Mettler said.
Over on Adams Street, many of the bar owners we've talked to are hoping for the same in their outdoor refreshment area, including Zach Lahey, owner of Manhattan's.
"We were kind of waiting for when this opening day was dropped on us, but yeah, at this point we're going to be pressing the health department pretty hard to re-instate the DORA because it's extremely essential for us to have that extra business," Lahey said.
WTOL reached out to the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department. We're told told no decisions have been made yet.