Last call for the old downtown?
A significant administrative change quietly took effect Feb. 1 for downtown Orlando’s nightlife. For the first time, venues holding After Midnight Alcohol Sales permits were required to pay their policing fees in a lump sum, in advance, for the month ahead.
The city previously operated on a weekly billing cycle that included a grace period allowing downtown businesses 30 days to pay and up to 60 days before facing a code violation. Orlando’s program mandating AMS permits and associated fees for some venues in a zone called the Downtown Entertainment Area, or DEA, was approved by the Orlando City Council March 20, 2023.
With this year’s program updates, invoices are due strictly on the first of the month, in advance of services being rendered. The city offered a “fee-free holiday” in January to ease the transition, and the arrival of the February invoices marked the start of a stricter financial reality for operators.
“They are doing anything and everything they can to squeeze people out. If this was rooted in common sense, every bar or establishment would be paying into this, not just some. But even that is illegal. We already have a mechanism for this. It’s called taxes,” says Eric Fuller, owner of the nightclub Celine on Magnolia Avenue. “It’s not legal what they’re doing, in our opinion.”
