West Hollywood restaurants start to ditch outdoor dining

Some popular restaurants in West Hollywood started to get rid of their pandemic-era outdoor dining ahead of the city's mandate. 

Places like the restaurant Stache must dismantle their Outdoor Temporary Use (OUT) Zones by May, but decided to get a head start.

The city allowed for temporary OUT Zone expansions into the public right of way for restaurants and shops to help with COVID-19 social distancing requirements and to help businesses stay open.

"We really loved having the extended patio. We've had it for a really long time," Stache general manager Sebastian LaCause said. "It was really great for business, especially during Pride and Halloween."

Despite the love for the al fresco dining, LaCause admitted that the upkeep costs could be a little taxing. 

"The upkeep of the boardwalk is really costly," LaCause said. "We were having to patch it up constantly. We were getting calls from the city constantly. So, we just decided at the first of the year we were just going to bring everything back into the original patio footprint."   

LaCause said the less space would be an adjustment for the restaurant. 

"It is definitely going to affect business," he said. "I hope not in a negative way. It's definitely going to change in some way, which has yet to be seen."

However, not all of the restaurants in the city's Rainbow District are getting rid of their outdoor dining. La Boheme is one of the businesses exploring the option to make their OUT Zone permanent. The city said it is working with businesses to ensure everything adheres to the right of way, access for people with disabilities and building and safety codes 

Some residents are excited to get more space along the sidewalks. 

"We are getting our parking back, our sidewalks back, a little more space," resident Tom Dunlap said. "It just kind of feels like we're getting a little bit of normalcy back."

--Lauren Pozen contributed reporting.