Sacramento City Leaders To Announce Grant Money For Restaurants To Expand Outdoor Seating
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Outdoor dining is taking off in Sacramento as more and more restaurants need to boost capacity while staying socially distant.
On Friday, the city will announce new funding to help pay for the effort. The city will also shut down 20th street between J and K for outdoor seating.
Bars and restaurants are quickly adapting to a new habitat. Selland's on H street built a large deck in just two days.
"We look forward to having some breakfast and mimosas out here," said Meredith Mitchell, who lives nearby.
Mitchell sees socially-distant dining as a positive side effect of COVID-19. Restaurants need this new option to be the hook that reels more customers in.
"Even two extra seats is potentially eight more people at least coming in and we've been pretty full so that's a blessing in disguise," said Jarrett Derfield, the manager at Midtown Der Biergarten.
READ: Guard Troops Amid Protests Cost Nearly $25M In California
Social distancing means limiting capacity and bottom lines. Pre-COVID business models are thrown out the window. Staffing needs are changing as well as how much food is bought from vendors.
"Their whole ecosystem has been disrupted. And what we hope is that by bringing some of these patios back to life, we add back some of their capacity and make it so that their business models are more viable," said Emily Baime Michaels, the executive director of the Midtown Association.
Between J and K streets, 20th Street will completely close for outdoor seating through September. The city's grants will help restaurants pay for railings, patios and barricades. It could be the start of a new trend in Sacramento.
"When I look at it, I think why are we not doing this as a city all the time?" Baime Michaels said.
And it's all thanks to coronavirus.