Downers Grove has amended its downtown outdoor dining regulations in terms of fees, licensing and more. The village initially expanded outdoor dining as an emergency measure to assist struggling restaurants at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Downers Grove has amended its downtown outdoor dining regulations for 2022 and beyond.
The village council unanimously approved the changes this week. The revisions were created with input from the nonprofit Downers Grove Downtown Management Corporation.
The updated regulations standardize several issues around fees and licensing, additional cleanliness requirements and pedestrian access.
Community Development Director Stan Popovich said Downers Grove anticipates revenues of $30,000 from outdoor dining if all the previous participating restaurants from the past two years join in again.
“Outside dining has proved to be a wonderful success and the silver lining behind COVID,” said commissioner Rich Kulovany at the earlier meeting.
As a response to COVID-19 lockdowns, Downers Grove expanded downtown outdoor dining as an emergency measure to help financially struggling restaurants. The village installed temporary barricades as some downtown restaurants applied for permission to take over public parking spaces and sidewalks for outdoor dining.
“It was crucial during that first summer of 2020,” said Ryan Jansky, general manager of Cellar Door Wine Shop and Bistro at 5150-A Main St.
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“I don’t know many restaurants would have made it with carryout only.”
With another season of downtown outdoor dining on the horizon, the village has revised some of those emergency measures to become more standardized.
For example, Downers Grove outlines that a restaurant’s outdoor seating cannot exceed the number of indoor seats. Restaurants also no longer need to enclose the dining area with temporary fencing along the sidewalk side.
Restaurants now must also obtain a Class O liquor license for serving alcohol outdoors. Downers Grove previously waived that fee if restaurants had an on-premise liquor license.
A revocation clause has been added in case restaurants do not comply with village codes.
All downtown dining applications are due to the village by March 1. Sidewalk dining becomes available — weather depending — starting March 15. On-street dining will begin at a later date.
At a Feb. 1 meeting, commissioners asked village management to look at how the outdoor dining regulations could be expanded village-wide. In passing the revisions on Tuesday, Mayor Bob Barnett made certain to remark on that.
“This is a downtown-oriented adjustment,” Barnett said. “We have every intention of considering opportunities beyond the downtown at a future date.”
