The City of Ottawa recently approved Town, a restaurant on Elgin Street, for a patio pilot project.
Outdoor patios popped up in front of a few more Elgin Street restaurants this summer with the introduction of a city pilot project, prompting concern from some Centretown residents who say patios take up too much space on the sidewalk. But some of the street’s restaurants see the patios as beneficial to their business.
Six restaurants are participating in the city’s outdoor patio pilot project including The Standard, Hooley’s Pub, Town, Johnny Farina, Woody’s Pub and Fresco Bistro Italiano, which received permission for patios on a trial basis.
The pilot began this summer and will run until the end of summer 2014, when the city will ask for feedback from the community and evaluate its success, says Robert Dekker, vice-president of the Centretown Citizens Community Association.
The pilot will determine whether it will be necessary to change the minimum sidewalk width from 2.4 to 1.8 metres, said the city’s program manager for right-of-way bylaws, permits and inspections, Ermis Durofil, in an e-mail.
Some Centretown residents from the community association's senior committee say the patios make the sidewalks too narrow. They are concerned about people in wheelchairs and walkers, says Dekker.
The association does not want outdoor patios to prevent pedestrians from walking with ease down the street, but recognizes their potential to bring more business to the area, says Dekker.
Anthony Spagnolo, manager of Johnny Farina restaurant on Elgin Street, is participating in the pilot and says the outdoor patios provide his business with another revenue stream.
During the first warm weeks of the summer, fewer customers frequent his restaurant as some would rather go where they can sit outside, he says.
“(The patios) give us an opportunity to be a little busier in what’s typically our down time.”
Lori Wojcik, owner of Town restaurant on Elgin Street and another participant in the pilot project, says her restaurant’s patio wasn’t open this summer but will be for the 2014 season.
The patio will allow the restaurant to accommodate more customers, she says.
Wojcik says her restaurant is small, about 46 seats, so even though the patio will only add an extra four to six seats, it will make a big difference. It will provide the restaurant with more revenue, making it easier to offer different products, she says.
Ian Wilson, The Standard restaurant manager, however, says he does not see the patios as a way to bring more revenue to his business.
The Standard’s patio can accommodate 12 customers, so it’s not big enough to be a “money maker,” but rather an added option for guests looking to sit outside, he says.
Some of the restaurants also see the patios as positively impacting the larger Elgin Street area.
Wojcik says that outdoor patios can help bring new customers into the restaurants.
People are often hesitant about entering restaurants they have not tried before, so outdoor patios give customers a glimpse inside, she says.
Outdoor patios also have the potential to make Elgin Street more competitive with the ByWard Market, says Hooley’s Pub manager Gyneya Dicks, as people enjoy sitting and watching what is happening on the street.
Despite the hope that patios will bring more people to Elgin Street, some of the restaurants have received concerns that there is not enough space on the sidewalk for pedestrians.
Wilson says he heard about someone pushing a baby carriage who was worried about being able to navigate around the patios on the street.
Dekker suggests the city could look to Montreal as a way to have outdoor patios without encroaching on the sidewalk. He says in certain areas of Montreal, one lane of the road closes on certain nights so the patios can be set up in the parking lane rather than the sidewalk.