EDMONTON – Patio season is in full swing, and unlike last year, restaurants now have a little less red tape to get through to set up an outdoor dining space.
After a campaign to streamline the process, the owners of Tres Carnales Taqueria are excited that they’ll soon get to add the patio they’ve been waiting for. One of them, Chris Sills, says he thinks the patio will add about another 20 seats to the busy restaurant, which will be a 50 per cent increase in capacity.
“We couldn’t be happier,” he said. “It just creates more of that ‘invested kind of feel’ for a downtown, the kind you want to experience.”
The Mexican eatery, located on Rice Howard Way, isn’t the only one taking advantage of its sidewalk space.
Hundred Bar and Kitchen just opened up its 44-person patio a couple weeks ago.
“It’s a process that we never really bothered with in the years past because we were afraid to do so. But the city opened up the licensing a little bit, and I guess here we are today,” explained Dave Ozubko, managing partner with Century Hospitality Group.
Ozubko says patrons had been asking about a patio for four years.
” I wish we’d done this sooner,” admits Councillor Don Iveson, “I think people are going to love it. But now is as good as a time as any.”
Sills credits Iveson and Councillor Ben Henderson in making the patio-licensing process a little easier.
“They were really, really integral in streamlining the whole process, in making it more of a few steps instead of a dozen steps.”
As part of the changes, the city has also eliminated seasonal restrictions on patios.
The Tres Carnales patio is expected to open within a week.
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