If you give an inch, will you get it back, or lose a mile?
That’s an interesting question the answer we won’t know until, I predict, late summer early fall this year.
As outdoor temperatures increase, vaccinations rise and fear of contracting COVID-19 diminishes, the tables at outdoor patios are repopulating.
Maybe the only thing Southern Californians love more than eating surf and turf tacos paired with craft brew is eating surf and turf tacos paired with craft brew outside on a sunny day. (We’ll eat and drink outdoors on cloudy days too, provided there is a space heater protecting us from the bone-chilling 65 degree blasts that occasionally blow through.)
During the last year restaurants and bars that had to cease indoor operations to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 were able to make up for some of the lost revenue by establishing service outdoors.
Across the country eateries that didn’t already provide outdoor dining, or in some cases had limited outdoor capacity, were able to set up shop on sidewalks and city streets.
The al fresco feasting was made possible thanks to municipalities easing restrictions that made outdoor patios a bother to pursue. Cities also set aside blocks of street parking—or in some cases shut down entire thoroughfares—so that restaurateurs could serve food and drink in the public right of way. In many places, metered and timed parking turned into tables for two and four-tops in the hopes that a battered industry could survive.
While the operation may not be as profitable as indoor dining at full capacity, the approach seems to be working. And diners appear amenable to the adjustment. Which leads me back to the question, if you give an inch, will they take a mile and then give it back? Do we even want it back?
For decades there has been a tug of war between those who advocate for more pedestrian-friendly cities and those who say wide open streets and ample parking are needed for a thriving economy.
Over the last year we have seen we can get by with restricted traffic flow and limited parking. When things get back to normal, will restaurants and diners eagerly give up their makeshift patio seating? Or will more people and fewer cars be the new normal?
