Philadelphia streeteries are making a comeback with new regulations
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Streeteries are making a comeback. The outdoor dining option that became popular during the pandemic is returning.
"It's looking for the future," Brett Naylor, said.
Preparing for the future, one cut at a time.
Contractors at Wilder in Center City's Rittenhouse Square neighborhood are building their new streetery. Naylor is the owner of the restaurant. He bought the building in 2019 and started construction in early 2020 and then the pandemic hit.
They're opening was delayed until March 2022. At the time they had no outdoor dining but that's about to change.
"When everything shut down it was a little nerve-wracking of we're opening a restaurant in a pandemic," Naylor said. "What are we doing?! I was hopeful and still excited this is what I know and here we are."
Once completed, it will have about 20 seats.
And with the extra space, Naylor says he'll also be able to add staff not only for the streetery, but also in the kitchen.
"It's going to be creating more jobs," Naylor said. "I think it's great for us, great for the city, great for our guests."
"I think it's great," Bronwyn Lepore said. "I always prefer sitting outside to inside even if it's a little chilly out. I think it's good for the restaurants because of the extra space."
But they also come with extra regulations.
In late 2021, city council imposed new rules on streeteries. They include being further away from fire hydrants, intersections and crosswalks.
They also had to have designs approved by the Department of Licenses and Inspections. Because of that, many of the pandemic-era streeteries had to torn down.
Cuba Libre in Old City was one of the restaurants that had to demolish their original streetery but they're now rebuilding. They say there's still a demand for outdoor dining.
"We have our deck that people go to sit if they want to sit outside but that's also why we're doing this just to expand," Steven Holley, Cuba Libre beverage manager, said.