WINTER GARDEN, Fla. — City officials in Winter Garden voted to enact an alcoholic beverage ordinance that will add restrictions for late-night alcohol sales throughout the city.

What You Need To Know

  • The city of Winter Garden approved an ordinance that will restrict the sale of alcohol between midnight and 2 a.m. in the city

  • Certain exceptions can apply for businesses that qualify for an extension of hours permit, which would allow for the sale and consumption of alcohol until 2 a.m.

  • Officials say the ordinance only impacts seven businesses in downtown Winter Garden

  • Ryan Freelove, owner of the Market to Table restaurant, worries that this ordinance will drive business away from Winter Garden to neighboring cities

Even though certain provisions of ordinance No. 24-40 went into effect on Thursday night, city officials recommended delaying certain sections, including the hours of sale and the extension of hours permit, until after Jan. 1, because of the upcoming holiday season.

The hours of sale section notes that the sale and consumption of alcohol will be limited to midnight, unless the establishment has an approved extension of hours permit issued by the city.

The seven businesses that would be the most impacted, given their hours of operations, would need to have an extension of hours permit in order to sell and consume alcohol until 2 a.m. 

Those seven impacted businesses include:

  • Hagan O’Reilly’s Irish Pub

  • Mr. Shots Cantina

  • Miller’s Ale House

  • Cariera’s Fresh Italian

  • Pilar’s Martini & Loft

  • Whole Enchilada 

  • Tony’s Liquor

Some of the major changes made to the ordinance since the last reading include the extension of hours permit, which only applies to on-premises drinking establishments.

Package sale vendors are exempt from the new hours of sale rule and can continue to sell alcohol from 7 a.m. until 2 a.m. the following day.

The city says it rewrote the suspension of extension of hours of permit section because of some concerns over the language being too vague.

It clarified that violations would include illegal activities (particularly related to drinking, loitering and vandalism).

Any violation must be able to be traced back to that particular establishment in order to constitute a violation against that said establishment.

It also gives law enforcement discretion to issue warnings to any establishment in the event of a violation.

The city also announced a suspension procedure for the extension of hours permit, announcing the addition of a 3-strikes policy.

The first noted violation would result in a warning, the second in the city meeting with the business to create a mitigation plan to fix the issues. 

Upon the third violation, the matter will be heard in front of the city’s code enforcement board to consider suspension.

If an establishment is suspended twice in a 12-month permit period, then the city may recommend relocation for the remainder of the permit period.

Suspensions are not permanent and can be reinstated or restored during the next application cycle.

The city says this ordinance allows them to be more responsive to reported issues related to late-night alcohol consumption 

This follows a claim that the city received persistent complaints from the public about issues related to the sale of alcohol by businesses after midnight.

City staff did not provide records of those complaints, but they said there have been issues with trash in downtown and have video footage showing illegal activities.

Ryan Freelove, who has owned Market to Table on West Plant Street since 2016, said an ordinance like this will hinder businesses like his, potentially causing him to lose clients.

“Well some people, I think that we shouldn’t want to lose that opportunity I mean you come, you have a nice dinner, after that you want to go upstairs, listen to some jazz music, after that you want to hit another bar. I mean, this doesn’t happen every day, but I mean people are going to lose the ability to do that,” he expressed.

Even though his restaurant is open from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, he says he works in conjunction with Pilars Martini and Loft, located a few feet away from his restaurant, by providing them food for their late-night service.

Pilars are among those seven businesses that will face late-night alcohol sale restrictions starting Jan. 1.

The city believes this ordinance will encourage businesses to self-regulate and take the burden off of the city to use taxpayer funds to respond to these issues.

They add that the goal is to maintain public safety and foster a family-friendly environment throughout downtown and all of Winter Garden.