CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) --Chicago’s outdoor dining program is ending for the season, but some restaurant owners say they would like to see outdoor dining year-round.
The many restaurants and bars along a small stretch of Clark Street in River North have now hauled in their tables and chairs for the winter months ahead. In the summer months, the streets are blockaded and those tables and chairs positioned in the roadway are filled with customers.
The question now is would customers utilize outdoor seating during the winter as they had in 2020-2021 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
RJ Melman is President of Lettuce Entertain You, which operates several of Clark Street’s hippest establishments. He tells WBBM that even if the customers don’t come, the city should allow outdoor dining, year-round and city -wide.
"In 2020, there was certainly more desire to eat outside, but maybe that was because of lack of choices", Melman said.
"I don't know if the demand is quite as high today. Certainly, I love that the city has activated outside (dining) and I'd love to keep it that way."
At the Smith restaurant on Clark and Kinzie, Manager Ashley DiRusso, said she's not sure about year-round outdoor dining, but an extension might be in order.
"I don't know how lucrative that would be when it snows. I definitely think that there are more months in the year that we would benefit from it that we don't have it currently."
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