One challenge facing businesses along this block of The Elbow entertainment district, is that patrons cannot carry alcohol from an establishment into the back alley as this violates the State of Florida’s open container laws. Given that the alley is comprised of only a few private property lines, it is conceivable then that a licensed premises can be extended to this space so long as the sale/service of alcohol would not take place on any public property. Each bar would need to enter into a lease agreement with the surrounding property owners proving that they have a right to use the back alley, and then apply to amend their licensed premises with the Bureau of Alcohol and Tobacco.

Licensed premises is defined in Fla. Stat. s. 561.01(11) as follows:

Quote
“Licensed premises” means not only rooms where alcoholic beverages are stored or sold by the licensee, but also all other rooms in the building which are so closely connected therewith as to admit of free passage from drink parlor to other rooms over which the licensee has some dominion or control and shall also include all of the area embraced within the sketch, appearing on or attached to the application for the license involved and designated as such on said sketch, in addition to that included or designated by general law. The area embraced within the sketch may include a sidewalk or other outside area which is contiguous to the licensed premises. When the sketch includes a sidewalk or other outside area, written approval from the county or municipality attesting to compliance with local ordinances must be submitted to the division to authorize inclusion of sidewalks and outside areas in licensed premises. The division may approve applications for temporary expansion of the licensed premises to include a sidewalk or other outside area for special events upon the payment of a $100 application fee, stipulation of the timeframe for the special event, and submission of a sketch outlining the expanded premises and accompanied by written approval from the county or municipality as required in this subsection. All moneys collected from the fees assessed under this subsection shall be deposited into the Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Trust Fund.

A somewhat similar situation exists within downtown’s most popular entertainment destination. When the City of Jacksonville entered into an agreement with The Rouse Company to develop the Jacksonville Landing in 1984, the City’s lease contained a provision to waive by Ordinance all prohibitions and zoning distance limitations concerning the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages within the site’s footprint. Within the Landing’s footprint, patrons can carry an open container and enter/leave restaurants with alcohol so long as they do not leave the Landing’s footprint (which includes the open space fronting Independent Drive, Hogan Street and Laura Street).

Alcohol service is offered within the Jacksonville Landing’s property lines on special events like Florida/Georgia weekend thanks to a provision in their lease with the City of Jacksonville waiving zoning distance limitations concerning the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.

Additionally, a ‘wet zone’ exists in and around the sports district of downtown. During specified days, open container restrictions on alcoholic beverages and distance limitations are waived for establishments holding a validly issued license for the sale of alcoholic beverages. The periods from when this ‘wet zone’ applies occurs from 8:00 a.m. the day prior to 11:59 p.m. the day after the following special events: The Florida Georgia Football Game, The Gator Bowl, World of Nations, Jacksonville Jazz Festival, Spring Music Festivities, Skyblast/July 4th, 12 ticketed events at Metropolitan Park, Bethune/Cookman events, FAMU events, Fairground events, Jacksonville Suns games, Jacksonville Jaguar games, Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville events, EverBank Stadium events, Arena Events and any other events the Council of the City deems special.

Intuition Ale Works’ new facility takes advantage of the wet zone surrounding the sports complex with the addition of an outdoor bar and retail service window that opens to the sidewalk. Customers can purchase drinks on the go during the more than half of the year when open container restrictions are lifted in this area.

The boundaries of the A. Philip Randolph Entertainment District Overlay Zone is shown here on the A. Philip Randolph Entertainment District Overlay Zone Map

As a major construction project is underway at the intersection of Bay and Main Streets that will transform the former Bostwick Building into the Cowford Chophouse, now is the time to move forward with plans to rehabilitate the alleyway into a unique urban destination. The Forking Amazing Restaurant group, owners of the Cowford Chophouse, control the entranceway into the alley from Ocean Street as well as much of the Western portion of the alleyway. Whether or not the alley becomes an amenity or continues to languish as an underutilized asset will largely depend on whether the construction of Cowford Chophouse will integrate a restoration of this entryway that ties into a larger alleyway improvement.

Originally constructed in 1902 as the home of First Atlantic Bank, Jacques Klempf purchased the building in 2014 through a foreclosure auction, and has begun the painstaking process of renovating the historic building into an upscale chophouse complete with rooftop bar.

Despite the challenge of property ownership within the alley, here’s a few images of what some other communities have done with similar ignored and overlooked spaces.