Nanaimo restaurants can keep extra patio space for another year

Nanaimo’s temporary restaurant patios can remain until the end of next October.

Council voted unanimously in favour of extending the city’s patio program to help restaurateurs who need more space to meet physical-distancing requirements due to the pandemic.

The trial program began in June and had been scheduled to wrap up at the end of September.

The city had anticipated that wooden patios would be dismantled during the winter and brought back out again in spring, but restaurants asked if they could have them year-round.

Coun. Zeni Maartman, who made the motion in favour of extending the patio program and suspending the city’s approval process for expanding liquor serving areas, said she’s pleased with the program, intended to help restaurants survive the pandemic.

Nanaimo is one of several communities, including Victoria, that have allowed businesses to set up outdoor patios on sidewalks and streets, via wooden platforms erected on parking spaces.

Nanaimo city staff said the outdoor patios helped create more vibrancy on the streets, increased downtown foot traffic and attracted tourists. As a result, some businesses ended up hiring additional staff. Canopies and heaters can be added by restaurant managers at their own expense.

The approval followed a request from the B.C. Restaurant and Foodservices Association, the Alliance of Beverage Licensees, and the B.C. Craft Brewers Guild to extend the outdoor seating program.