Chilly or not, the city of Detroit is extending its outdoor dining program through the winter to support restaurants impacted by pandemic restrictions.
The program allows for sidewalks, on-street parking spaces and private parking lots to be temporarily converted for seating, expanded outdoor dining areas and retail space. There are also designated Café and Retail Zones, where portions of an entire street will be closed so residents can safely support businesses.
Restaurants must submit an application for the program, which kicks off December 1st and runs through March. Applications for the winter program are now open and can be submitted at Detroitmeansbusiness.org.
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In the designated Café & Retail Zones,the city will close selected portions of an entire street. These zones provide the maximum space to serve businesses in a concentrated area, and will be installed 24 hours per day/7 days per week, for the duration of the program. Social distancing requirements as well as ADA clearances must be followed. Enclosed outdoor seating is permissible under the following guidelines:
Tents can only have one single side of the tent down. Tents with more than one side down are not allowed.“Igloo” style seating is allowed but must only sit one household at a time. A household is defined as a group of persons living together in a shared dwelling with common kitchen or bathroom facilities.
“Our local restaurants continue to face challenges as a result of COVID-19 related restrictions on sit-down dining capacity," said DPW Director Ron Brundidge. "With these restrictions continuing into the cold weather months, the extension of the Open Detroit program will give businesses an opportunity to service patrons in a safe manner. Our hope is that restaurants take advantage of this opportunity, and most importantly that residents safely support these businesses."