OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Ocala City Council voted unanimously during its meeting on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, to approve a request from two downtown establishments to allow the consumption of alcohol outside but still on their premises.
The two bars, Mutiny Ocala (46 S. Magnolia Ave., Suite B) and The Tipsy Skipper (48 S. Magnolia Ave., Suite A), are next door to each other and run by the same corporate entity, Martin & Weiss, LLC.
After asking how the locations’ respective staff would make sure patrons wouldn’t leave the premises with open containers (which are illegal “in public” downtown), council members assented to the request within each establishment’s “approved sidewalk cafe areas.”
No one reportedly stepped forward to offer an opinion one way or the other during the public comment portion of the proceedings.
The move could be seen as an expansion of the rights afforded by the bars’ respective liquor licenses. Some council members wondered if something could be done to the city ordinance to save the council from having to address this sort of request on an individual basis; City Manager Peter Lee reportedly said city staff would explore a proposal to adjust the ordinance.