More than a dozen downtown Dunedin bar and restaurant owners want the city to let happy hour spill onto Main Street sidewalks, and they showed up together at City Hall on Thursday, July 9 to make the case.

The coalition, led by Jason Seibert of Rosie's Tavern and Flanagan's Irish Pub, asked the Dunedin City Commission to designate parts of Main Street within the downtown Community Redevelopment Area as an open-container hospitality district, according to the Tampa Bay Beacons. They're calling it "Sip and Stroll," modeled on the program Largo approved unanimously in June.

Under the proposal, the city would sell official branded cups to merchants. Patrons of legal drinking age could carry no more than two drinks at a time while walking the district during set hours. Carrying alcohol in glasses, cans, or bottles would remain illegal. Seibert estimated the city could sell 500,000 branded cups per year.

"Every drink carried down Main Street becomes a small piece of Dunedin marketing, and a small deposit into the Dunedin budget," Seibert told commissioners at the July 9 meeting.

The pitch comes as downtown businesses say they're losing ground to neighboring cities. Seibert named Safety Harbor and Largo as municipalities "actively courting visitors" who once came to Dunedin. The coalition framed the district as a revenue source that doesn't rely on property taxes, a significant point given the city faces financial headwinds from a potential state property tax amendment.

City Manager Jennifer Bramley responded warmly.

She told the packed room her staff would research what other cities are doing and bring the item back to a commission workshop. She drew laughter when she told business owners she hadn't seen them all agree on anything like this in a long time.

But Bramley noted there are "other factors involved in Second Fridays" that staff would need to work through. The coalition also asked the city to revive the Second Friday street event, turning Main Street into a pedestrian promenade with live music, street performers, and vendors funded by local businesses.

As of Friday, July 31, no vote had been scheduled. City leaders were still debating whether and when to bring the proposal forward for formal action.

Named businesses in the coalition include Caledonia Brewing at 587 Main St., Rosie's Tavern, Flanagan's Irish Pub, Studio 1212 Art Gallery at 234 Monroe St., and Soaring Heart Energies. Downtown Dunedin has grown into what prior reporting valued as a $304 million economic asset, with tourist development tax collections jumping nearly 23% over two years.

Largo's version, approved 7-0 on June 2, requires clear shatterproof plastic cups no larger than 16 ounces and limits hours to 8 a.m.–11 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and 8 a.m.–midnight Thursday through Saturday.

What's next: City staff are expected to bring the proposal back to a commission workshop, though no date has been announced. The Dunedin Downtown Market continues Saturdays, 9 a.m.–1 p.m., at the Dunedin History Museum parking lot, 349 Main St., through October.