Councillor wants to allow Hamilton restaurants to expand patios into roads, parking lots this summer

Hamilton city councillor for Ward 2, Jason Farr, is putting forward a motion to allow temporary, shared outdoor dining districts" in public spaces during the summer and fall.

We have a celebrated foodie scene," he said. With this particular motion we can show some ambition, show some outside-the-box thinking and, at the same time, do what we can as a municipal government to help a very obviously struggling sector."

The motion, which will be brought to city council on May 13, has been seconded by Mayor Fred Eisenberger. If adopted, the motion would allow restaurants to expand into approved public outdoor spaces in the city, including roads and parking lots.

In all likelihood it's going to be a scenario for some months where physical distancing is going to be a priority still," Farr said.

The motion, tweeted by Farr on May 7, states that allowing for additional seating capacity outdoors could have a significant positive impact on the restaurant industry," which employs more than 18,000 people in Hamilton.

To create a patio or a piazza that everybody can share is a big benefit not only to the community, but also to the businesses that pay the taxes on those streets," said Jason Cassis, co-founder and CEO of Equal Parts, a hospitality company that owns a number of restaurants in the city.

Cassis said that when dining rooms are allowed to open, physical-distancing requirements may reduce some restaurants to half their usual capacity, while overhead costs, such as rent, electricity, insurance and taxes, remain the same.

But if you're able to add 20 more seats outside on a road or a sidewalk or a parking space or a garden courtyard, then that might be the difference between breaking even - or making money - and incurring a loss by reopening," he said.

Cassis said outdoor dining space is a deciding factor" in when and how they open their restaurants.

We may have waited an extra month or two to open until people felt comfortable coming back," he said. I think that a consumer's choice to be outside will become very evident in the months to come."

Kerry Jarvi, the executive director of the Downtown Hamilton BIA, said they already have the infrastructure in place to accommodate outdoor dining.

We're ready," she said. Once we have guidelines that we know we can stick to and we're told what the guidelines are, we'll be ready to work with the city to make sure that it's up and up and running."

Jarvi said the BIA would like to close two roads to cars in downtown Hamilton - King William and Bowen streets - which would benefit between 15 and 20 restaurants.

It's up to each individual area, but in downtown Hamilton, those are the two areas that we would like to focus on," she said.

Kate McCullough is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: kmccullough@thespec.com