NYC Restaurants Spill Out Onto The Asphalt To Stay In Business

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People dine under red umbrellas outside Via Carota restaurant in New York City’s West Village. As the city continues to reopen, it is allowing restaurants to expand outdoors.

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As New York City continues reopening, officials are allowing restaurants to expand outdoors. As long as they keep a path clear for pedestrians and follow other guidelines such as not blocking bus stop waiting areas and subway grates, they can apply to put seating on sidewalks and in curbside parking spots.

That has transformed the city’s streets, many of which have come alive with little fenced-in dining areas with tables and umbrellas and decorated with flower boxes and hanging plants.

Despite Kuo and Skarlatos’ unpleasant experiences, many of the new dining spaces are attractive. They ended up choosing to eat and drink at a restaurant in Brooklyn called Hunky Dory, which serves classic foods such as BLTs and fried chicken sandwiches and a range of cocktails. The big lot next door to the restaurant is spacious and fenced in.

«It’s the only place where I’ve seen the tables, like actually almost 10-feet apart, Kuo says.

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Why Some Restaurants Are Thriving In The Pandemic While Others Struggle

Why Some Restaurants Are Thriving In The Pandemic While Others Struggle

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Before July, that lot was empty. Hunky Dory’s owner, Claire Sprouse, struck up a deal with the owner to fix it up and use it for outdoor dining. She cleared out barbed wire and trash and put in tables and umbrellas.

She also converted her storefront window into a takeout window for customers to place and pick up orders.

It was a hefty investment for Sprouse, costing about $10,000, at a time when her business is scraping by from months of being closed to dining because of the pandemic.

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Many streets in New York City’s Chinatown have narrow sidewalks. The Chinatown Business Improvement District restricted traffic on this street and created outdoor dining area.

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For some New York neighborhoods outdoor dining is a particular challenge. Chinatown, for instance, has very narrow sidewalks and tightly packed storefronts. Wellington Chen leads the Chinatown Business Improvement District, which restricted traffic on a street with many restaurants and created outdoor dining area, with colorful barricades, plants, flowers, and artwork.

Chen says since it opened last week, restaurants have seen an increase in business. He says one owner reported a 35% spike in revenue.

But making outdoor dining work in a big city like New York isn’t easy, especially in the heat and humidity of summer, says Stephani Robson, who teaches restaurant design at Cornell University.

«It’s crowded, noisy and in the summertime sometimes a little bit stinky, she says.

But if they want to stay in business, restaurants have to overcome all of that, Robson says, and show they are still open and ready to serve their customers.