by Scott thomaS anderSon
sc o tta @ ne wsr e v ie w.c o m
means a lot of small business owners are scrambling to find ways to keep their outdoor patios going once the winter chill and rain arrive. But it’s not as simple as just moving heating devices near tents and canopies: The last thing owners or city officials want is sudden fire. So City Hall is currently working with restaurateurs to devise new guidelines to safely bring heat outdoors. For some owners, the plans could make the difference of whether their restaurant will stay open.
home,” said Emilie Cameron, public affairs and communications director for the partnership. “Many of the businesses we’ve talked to are seeing revenues of 10%, or at best, 25%, of what they were doing at this time last year. There are some exceptions—a business that’s doing really well, or a business where it’s costing money keep the doors open—but overall, there’s no denying that in the last six months the impacts have been significant.” The city announced its Farm to Fork Al Fresco program in late May, allowing many restaurants to expand outdoor Customers dine outdining into sidewalks, on-street doors on an October evening parking spaces, parts of streets and on R Street in Sacramento. How many nearby parking lots. As part of the program, the city gave grants of as much restaurants will Photos by Kami hoverson as $3,000 to restaurants to help pay for survive? barricades, lighting and furnishings. Even with the help, the cost to set up In late July, Yelp released a report outdoor dining is high, depending on using data and announcements from what kind of barriers they need to rent. its massive review site to document Restaurants along busier streets require the lockdown’s impacts on various crash cushion barriers, which run several cities. That report found that within the thousand dollars to rent for a couple of Sacramento-Roseville-Arden Arcade months. metro area, at least 131 restaurants had Now the restaurants are having to closed for good between March 1 and factor in the overhead of outdoor heatJuly 10. More concrete numbers for the ers. More importantly, they’re having to city of Sacramento have been hard to plan for safety. come by; City Hall won’t begin to have “Propane heaters and liquid petroa clear picture of the toll until it leum gas heaters are not meant knows how many restaurants for being used indoors, did not renew their annual inside tents,” said Jason business operating Restaurants Lee, the Sacramento tax certificate. That on R Street have Fire Department’s process could go fire marshal. “We’d well into 2021. been taking advantage want those types Officials with of the city’s Farm to heaters located City says heating outdoor tables safely is the key the Sacramento more on the Fork Al Fresco program, Downtown periphery of the Partnership, which though that will become On Sacramento’s R Street, warm many dining houses clinging to hope that tents rather than represents busiOctober evenings have been filled with they’ll survive the pandemic. challenging in the actually in them.” nesses in a 66-block people meeting face-to-face again, Yet there is an inescapable reality Lee added that radius from the Old winter months. gathering just outside popular restaurants setting in for local restaurateurs, as the fire department Sacramento waterfront in a garden-like atmosphere of fairy well as the diners who want to support has a team that includes to 16th Street, have been lights and white picket fences. them—the unusually warm fall is sure the city’s building and code regularly surveying members, City Hall’s decision to close off to end before a coronavirus vaccine is enforcement departments actively workventuring out on inspection walks and part of the lively Midtown avenue to widely available. ing with the restaurants on guidelines constantly scanning social media sties vehicles allowed dining hubs the space While there is a possibility that to keep the Al Fresco program going to try to get a handle on the long-term they needed to keep customers safer Sacramento County will hit the state’s through November, December and damage. The partnership’s best estimate from coronavirus in the fresh, open air. public health metrics that allow for more January. is that roughly three-quarters of the Numerous restaurants all over the city indoor dining by early November, there’s “A lot of what we’re looking at is the businesses within its restaurant-heavy are coming up with similar makeshift also a chance that a virus surge could tents and canopies and making sure they’re district are still open in some capacity, parklets as part of the city’s Farm to keep the county’s restaurants at 25% flame-treated per state requirements,” including take-out and curbside pickup Fork Al Fresco program, which has indoor capacity or stop dine-in service Lee said. “We also need to make sure and those using the Al Fresco program. awarded grants to about 300. And again entirely, depending on the severity firefighters have the ability to access those “It’s difficult in downtown because scenes like this may help bring a sense of the spike. dining areas, and that there’s access to fire the customer-base has really been driven of normalcy back to Sacramento, but Additionally, many patrons simply hydrants near them.” Ω by the office market, and a significant they are also the lifeline that’s keeping don’t feel safe eating indoors. That number of offices continue to work from
Sacramento’s restaurants look for ways to keep outdoor dining going through the winter
11.12.20
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SN&R
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