In an effort to alleviate some of the economic impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on downtown restaurants, the City of St. John’s has been streamlining the application process for outdoor patios.
Coun. Debbie Hanlon said, so far, the pedestrian mall on Water Street alone has had 19 applications approved. On Duckworth Street, there are four approved.
“City council is working as fast as we can to approve them,” Hanlon said.
The city has staff dedicated solely to this cause, and the council isn’t waiting until the scheduled meetings to approve them.
With restaurants losing profits from having to operate at a reduced capacity, speeding up the process would hopefully adjust for that loss, by extending a restaurants available square footage onto the sidewalk.
Lorne Loder is the co-owner of Boca Tapas, as well as Cojones Tacos & Tequila, both of which have patios now. He says they have impacted his businesses wonderfully.
“On nice sunny days, it certainly brings people out,” Loder said.
“Everybody’s been cooped up for a long time, between Snowmageddon and the global pandemic, we’ve all spent a lot of time indoors. The weather has finally broken, and people want to treat themselves, enjoy themselves, get together with friends that they haven’t seen in a long time and this gives them a venue.”
While socially distancing, patios give people the opportunity to people watch, mingle and actually be in the proximity to other humans, he says.
“And it’s the only show in town,” Loder says, noting several festivals that have had to cancel because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This gives people the opportunity to congregate safely in a pleasant environment and live like humans again.”
Owner of Mussels on the Corner, Brenda O’Reilly, says once their application was approved and the patio was built, their first sunny day was busy from opening until a chill entered the air.
“Here’s one thing I do know, is that Newfoundlanders love to sit outside,” she said. “In particular, in these times, it feels safer to sit outside.”
And because relying on tourists isn’t as much of an option this year, O’Reilly says she’s happy the added space is a hit with the locals.
@AndrewLWaterman
