As businesses and restaurants in Clark County remain in Phase 2 of Gov. Jay Inslee’s reopening plan for the state, the city of Vancouver has been creative in finding ways to allow food/beverage businesses the ability to add more seating. The city recently partnered with Vancouver’s Downtown Association in order to help develop options for area restaurant businesses.
“Under the city’s ‘Street Eats’ program, we’ve modified our sidewalk café seating permit process to allow additional seating on the sidewalks as well as the placement of parklets within existing on-street parking stalls located adjacent to the business,” said Ryan Lopossa, city of Vancouver streets & transportation manager.
The Sidewalk Café/Seating Permit allows a food service establishment to set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk immediately next to the business or in an area adjacent to the curb, and outside of the pedestrian path. A sidewalk café can provide table service and serve alcohol, as long as the business has a valid Washington state liquor license and meets all WSLCB requirements. The city of Vancouver requires that sidewalk café/seating permits be submitted and reviewed annually.
Michael Walker, executive director at Vancouver’s Downtown Association, said the program is a collaborative effort between the Vancouver’s Downtown Association, LSW Architects, Riff Creative and FrontdoorBack, Retail Design & Visual Merchandising.
“This project had a very quick turnaround time, with design, construction and installation happening at our first pilot location (Mighty Bowl) in less than 10 days,” Walker said. “This program showcases downtown Vancouver’s strong community network coming together to support our local businesses during a time of unprecedented adversity.”
Walker said the pilot program was conceived as a creative solution to support downtown eateries as they entered Phase 2 of reopening. In Phase 2, Vancouver restaurants, coffee shops and bars are able to host dine-in services, but only at 50% capacity for table seating. Walker said these outdoor seating areas will help mitigate the impacts of the 50% occupancy constraint that restaurants face during Washington’s phased reopening.
“Allowing patrons to sit outside in an open-air environment that allows for social distancing is a unique solution to an unprecedented situation,” Walker said. “In addition, our pilot is a great opportunity to display the possibilities of tactical urbanism – low-cost, temporary changes to the built environment that improve spaces in which people gather.”
At the end of June, eateries that had applied to install parklets included Little Conejo, City Sandwich, Ice Cream Renaissance and Mighty Bowl. In addition, Lopossa said the city has several businesses who are either renewing or applying for the first time for sidewalk café seating. Those businesses include:
- Uptown Barrel Room
- Brian Carter Cellars
- Trap Door
- Tip Top Tavern
- Niche Wine Bar
- Block 8 Investments/Airfield Estates (Waterfront)
- Pacific House
- Kafiex Roasters
- Pepper Bridge Winery
- Trusty Brewing Company
- Brewed 360
- Compass Coffee
- Syrup Trap
- The Grocery
- La Bottega
- Vinnie’s Pizza
- Elements
- Amaro’s Table
“We have a large number of establishments that are taking advantage of the city’s program to provide additional space for their customers during the Phase 2 program,” Lopossa said. “We’re excited to be working with these businesses as they reopen to their customers and help to revitalize the city of Vancouver during these challenging times.”
