JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Jacksonville City Council will consider an ordinance to allow some downtown bars an extra hour to serve alcohol, according to News4JAX partners at the Jacksonville Daily Record.
Introduced by Council member Raul Arias, Ordinance 2026-0063 would allow bars in certain areas of Downtown to continue serving alcohol until 3 a.m. Those bars would be restricted to the NorthCore, Central Core, and Sports and Entertainment districts.
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“When you’re looking at larger cities, they all have one thing in common, and that’s obviously expanded hours for nightlife and restaurants, but they only have these hours in the urban core,” Arias said. “I think there’s a place for everything, and extended hours make sense for Downtown.”
Jacksonville’s NorthCore is bordered by Broad and Main streets to the east and west, and by State and Church streets to the north and south.
The Central Core is bordered by Broad Street to the west, Church Street to the north, the St. Johns River to the south until Main Street, and to the west by the river and Adams Street until Liberty Street.
Arias said he wanted to avoid easing the hours restrictions in areas with heavy residential areas, including near the Cathedral Hill district.
The bill will be formally introduced at the City Council’s meeting on Tuesday evening.