In Southern California, al fresco dining is changing the hospitality landscape

“The explosion of outdoor dining is both a survival tool for restaurants and a welcome cultural change that can be here to stay,” says Jessica Ritz, in her article originally published on Metropolis. In fact, the author explores the hotel trends that emerged during the California pandemic, primarily outdoor dining, and which are likely to last or be around for a long time.

The sheer pleasure of eating out in the temperate southern California climate has long been taken for granted and before the pandemic, it was rare to see restaurants offering so many alfresco dining. During the pandemic, alfresco dining has become a lifeline for restaurants, but it has become something more – a lifestyle benefit that was previously surprisingly rare. As the pandemic subsides, there is an urgent need to formalize and improve outdoor dining experiences among business owners and government agencies.

“We had been pushing for a more relaxed and creative use of outdoor space before Covid, because there has always been this embarrassing lack of alfresco dining,” says Hunter Hall, a consultant specializing in the intersection of the hospitality, technology and government; and is executive director of the Santa Monica Main Street Business Improvement Association.

He is not alone. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is a strong supporter, noting how in cold European cities, outdoor dining culture thrives even in winter. And yet, until emergency ordinances were enacted in Los Angeles, labyrinthine bureaucratic processes historically made these configurations extremely difficult. the Outdoor LA A temporary initiative has streamlined approvals, but at this point the focus is on making them better, safer, and permanent across the region.

“Coming from the East Coast, it’s remarkable how little outdoor dining in San Diego is,” echoes John Resnick, owner of Campfire and Young and beautiful in the seaside town of Carlsbad, California. Resnick’s investment in Jeune et Jolie, an avant-garde French restaurant, illustrates why adding intentionally designed outdoor spaces makes business and experiential sense.

In June 2020, Resnick and his team created a makeshift but cozy patio on an adjacent aisle, where Executive Chef Eric Bost served a revamped “Starry Night” multi-course menu. “The moment people started to sit outside, they started asking, ‘Are you going to make this permanent? “So, during another round of mandatory shutdowns, the Los Angeles-based design firm Bells + Whistles came back to add a suitable varnish to a 1,500 square foot exterior expansion. A low stucco wall was built to wrap around the new area to enclose and give visual continuity to the existing original front patio, along with built-in banquettes, terracotta flooring and terrazzo table tops. The new patio with a capacity of 60 seats was completed when the reopening began in March of this year. Even as indoor dining capacity increases, Resnick does not see the demand for outdoor tables diminishing.

However, after having had to operate in a permanent crisis mode, the resources available to independent restaurateurs vary. Lien Ta, co-owner of Baby all day located on Sunset Boulevard in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, notes that reliefs such as the Federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund and “many small grants could cover the costs of alfresco dining” if owners choose to use funds that way. (Ta also co-founded About her, a non-profit organization that supports women-owned food businesses and has launched a grant program this spring.)

In addition to robust consumer enthusiasm, political will has shifted widely in favor of securing a path for more alfresco dining as emergency orders slacken. “I’ve never seen prescriptions like the ones we passed,” says Eddie Navarrette of Los Angeles. FE design and advice, who has worked for two decades to obtain rights, licenses and permits for clients in the hospitality industry.

Along the California coast, regulations are changing. In Santa Barbara, city council voted to authorize changes to the outdoor dining regulations that were enacted last spring, this time at least until March 8, 2022. While in April, the city council of Santa Monica approved a pilot program that would close part of its Main Street to vehicular traffic on summer weekends.

Los Angeles City Council has voted to investigate how the LA Al Fresco program which was launched in May 2020 can comply with codes, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as multiple government agency requirements , paving the way for more permanent alfresco dining. It is also considering suspending parking requirements and extending conditional use permits for restaurants that were due to expire during the pandemic by one year.

The City of LA’s proposed budget also includes nearly $ 2 million to establish outdoor parks in restaurants in low-income communities to bring new energy and life to the streets, as well as money from residents. consumers.

During this post-peak-pandemic transition period, outdoor seating remains an essential tool of economic support for small businesses as well as a welcome cultural change that simply makes sense in the hot, dry climate of southern Africa. California. The look and feel of these places is ultimately down to business owners and designers, but building higher quality environments “comes down to the infrastructure cities put in place and enable.” observes Navarrette. It is the responsibility of policy makers and local governments, for example, to make improvements to the streetscape and enforce or even reduce speed limits so that diners feel safe when eating in a park. “Build it and they will come,” says Navarrette.

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