CLEVELAND — Street parking in Cleveland turned into dining areas during the height of the pandemic, and the popular concept is now expected to see its third summer and possibly stick around for good.
Legislation introduced Monday at city council allows for temporary dining in parking lots and spaces through this November.
It's welcome news for Sam McNulty, who owns Market Garden Brewery, Nano Brew Cleveland and soon Brightside and Bird of Paradise.
“The parklet as we call them, they're basically taking up a few parking spaces and adding room for dozens of people,” said McNulty.
In a couple of weeks, what is now under construction at his former Bier Markt, Bar Cento and Speakeasy property in Ohio City will open its doors and patio to customers.
“You guys are the first to hear it, actually will soon be Brightside and Bird of Paradise,” McNulty said.
The legislation for the temporary outdoor dining areas still needs council approval.
Mayor Justin Bibb’s spokesperson says the goal is to recycle the temporary legislation from 2020 while the city develops a permanent policy for parklets.
The mayor wants a permanent policy without jersey barriers in the future.
“It was fantastic and the minute we installed them back in 2020 people were asking why don’t we do this all the time,” said McNulty.
“This is a trend really across the United States, it’s not just a Cleveland thing, it’s not just an Ohio thing,” said Ohio Restaurant Association President and CEO John Barker.
Barker says 90,000 restaurants shut down nationwide between the early days of the pandemic in 2020 to earlier this year.
“We’re back now. We think it’s pretty even the amount of restaurants in 2022 that are closing versus those that are opening,” Barker said.
Barker says outdoor dining gives people, who may still feel uncomfortable in crowded restaurants, options.
“It’s been a real savior for the restaurants the last couple years, particularly in the warmer months,” Barker said.
Restaurant owners are shrinking hours or going dark a few days to compensate for staffing shortages.
“You might have a little bit of a problem as a consumer finding places serving food later in the night. Not because they don’t want to, they just don’t have enough staff to do it,” said Barker.
Back in Ohio City on West 25th street, McNulty is looking toward the future.
“Our thoughts were after the two years of the pandemic, it was time to refresh,” said McNulty.
McNulty says despite limiting hours, he’s packed in customers inside and possibly soon, streetside.
“We’re going to open up here in the next couple of weeks and thankfully we’ve been able to hire a really solid team and we’re excited to be reinvesting in Ohio City,” McNulty said.
The mayor’s office says the earliest the temporary dining measure can go into effect is early June pending council approval.
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