Inverness bar owners look to change city ordinance on open alcohol use

INVERNESS, Fla. — Bar owners in downtown Inverness are looking to change a city rule for the use of open alcohol in the city’s entertainment district.

This week, the Inverness City Council voted to reverse an earlier decision on downtown alcohol sales at outdoors events. The ordinance limits the sale and consumption of alcohol to only beer and wine, not liquor.

Businesses selling alcohol say this puts a limit on the drinks they can serve and profit off of. One distillery owner is looking to change that rule.

Back behind the bar of his distillery stands owner David Mohr, pouring out a fresh glass of one of his signature cocktails, an old fashioned.

“I started messing around and playing with distillation,” he said.

His establishment, Storm Distillery, has become his passion project.

“It’s just everyday coming in and creating something new and coming up with a new formula or figuring out how to do the math on calculations for grains and malts and spirits to make a certain spirit or flavor profile,” said Mohr. “It’s just really exciting.”

Only he’s trying to make it more accessible for his customers — specifically, part of Inverness’ entertainment district. An ordinance that allows paying customers to openly drink their beer or wine in a cup.

“Our entertainment district uses this cup, which is provided by the city at a cost,” said Inverness City Manager Eric Williams.

The ordinance was adopted in 2022. But as time has gone on, paying customers and owners have started to ask for the city to allow liquor as well.

“When we adopted that ordinance, originally, the council really looked at it and said, ‘We’d kind of like to take a paced approach where we’ll start it and we’ll create a geographic area which includes this area that you’re looking at,’” said Williams.

Mohr said there are four other businesses serving full liquor in the district. Under the current ordinance, those establishments cannot participate in the entertainment district.

“By that being able to change, it gives a lot of different benefits, not only for the business owners but also for the public,” Mohr said. “One of the concerns from the City Council members is that people are sneaking liquor into the entertainment district.”

Williams said the city has not experienced any negative impacts from the ordinance, but said there is some hope for change with a vote on the horizon.

“I think it’s going to be a positive change,” Mohr says. “It’s going to be great for the local businesses, it’s going to be great for the tourism and it’s going to be overall a better experience inside the city.”

A public forum will be held at the next Inverness City Council meeting on Sept. 17. There will also be a final vote to make the change to the ordinance at that meeting.