[Editor's note: This story has been changed to reflect a correction in the location of the parking lot. It also incorrectly identified Jeff Babik as the owner of a food truck. Babik interned for Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa in Fall 2011 and worked with the public safety committee.]
The Gainesville City Commission will discuss Thursday whether to allow alcohol to be sold in an outdoor parking lot downtown.
If it does, Gainesville business owners believe the change will be a draw for more downtown outdoor concerts and events.
The amended ordinances would allow the sale and consumption of alcohol in a parking lot at Southwest First Avenue and Southwest Second Street.
Tony Weinbender, founder of Fest, an annual three-day music festival in Gainesville, told the Gainesville Public Safety Committee on Feb. 29 that if the city OKs the sale of alcohol in a downtown parking lot, he would hold a new event in that location in the middle of May.
During Thursday’s meeting, the commission will also discuss allowing outdoor food vendors to keep their businesses open until 3 a.m. instead of 11 p.m.
Jeff Babik, who interned for Commissioner Jeanna Mastrodicasa in Fall 2011 and worked with the public safety committee on the issue, said in a proposal he wrote to the commission that most food truck vendors' income comes from young adults who go to downtown and Midtown bars.
He said the dense food sold by the trucks could benefit bar-goers.
“It is debatable,” Babik said in the proposal, “but many would say that these food vendors help sober up intoxicated adults and potential drunk drivers by putting food in their stomachs.”
Contact Adrianna Paidas at apaidas@alligator.org.
