Outdoor dining was a respite from grim pandemic

When the city of San Diego let restaurants set up tables on sidewalks and public parking spaces a year ago, the transformation in certain parts of town was striking, both visually and psychologically.

The deadly, dreary coronavirus pandemic had shut down much of life as we knew it. Once-bustling cafes were closed and restaurant rows at times resembled ghost towns.

Suddenly, there were festive settings — or at least some tables and chairs — in plain view, with people often happily engaging with others while sharing a meal and some drinks.

Just taking in the atmosphere while passing by could be uplifting. In a way, it was a symbol of hope and provided a sense of normalcy and, yes, even a bit of an escape from the oppressive COVID-19 outbreak.

All available data suggested doing business — or anything — outdoors with distancing was relatively safe, certainly when compared with being inside with a crowd. That’s why when the state temporarily closed outdoor dining during a spike in virus cases, it was met with howls of frustration.

More than a few people said these outdoor expansions should have been encouraged long ago, allowing businesses and restaurants to take advantage of one of San Diego’s great natural assets — its wonderful climate — and create a more dynamic street scene.

Those views came up as the City Council last week voted unanimously to give a one-year extension to the temporary regulations that allowed restaurants and other businesses to expand into the public right-of-way under certain conditions, according to Lori Weisberg of The San Diego Uniontribune.

“The public and businesses have responded so well, and we get so many complaints of why can’t we do this all the time, why did we have to wait for a pandemic,” Elyse Lowe, director of San Diego’s Development

Services department, told Weisberg.

The city essentially turned over public property to businesses to help them survive, and so their paying customers could engage in communal activity. The permitting process was made easy and fees were waived.

It’s easy to gush over the resulting makeshift outdoor venues that proved immensely popular, but they weren’t without problems.

As with indoor dining that was open at times to varying degrees, bad behavior by some patrons outside could make life difficult for servers, managers and owners. There were reports of verbal — and sometimes physical — abuse, usually over requirements to wear masks, and people often were sitting shoulder to shoulder as a highly contagious disease was running rampant.

Meanwhile, some business owners went beyond what the permits allowed and constructed decks with roofs or awnings and heaters that violated various municipal and state codes.

At one point, there were some 800 fire code violations relating to outdoor business operations, according to Lowe. As of the Tuesday council meeting, there were about 100 pending cases involving temporary outdoor business operations.

There will be a reckoning, as the city intends to enforce the codes. Some businesses may require minor adjustments, but others may have to overhaul their outdoor settings or get another permit.

Businesses hoping to get a break on the enforcement crackdown probably weren’t encouraged by what could be taken as an indirect warning from Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, whose District 3 includes dining hot spots of Old Town, Little Italy and downtown, along with other communities.

In a release, the council member noted the popularity of the temporary program and the desire of people to see it continue into the future.

Then Whitburn added, “Safety remains a number one priority and I am grateful to the City staff who continue to work to ensure these outdoor operations are compliant with a variety of safety codes and that they do not infringe upon public access.”

Businesses pushed for the extension of the outdoor rules. Now that they have it, many may face another challenge: staffing.

The state will end its color-coded, tiered reopening system on June 15. That will allow indoor dining to fully reopen. If restaurants keep their new outdoor patios open, that could be a big increase in capacity.

After San Diego County was bumped up to the less restrictive orange tier last month, restaurants were allowed to increase indoor dining service to 50 percent capacity. Even at that, restaurateurs struggled to fill positions and the competition among them for cooks, servers and other workers was intense.

There are lots of theories about why many former employees aren’t going back, but the end result is that to staff up, restaurants and other businesses may have to pay more.

This isn’t just a local dynamic.

Nearly a third of California’s restaurants permanently closed and two-thirds of workers at least temporarily lost their jobs as the pandemic set in more than a year ago and Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed the nation’s first statewide lockdown, according to The Associated Press, citing a state legislative report last week.

Numbers from the state Employment Development Department showed restaurant employment was still down one-quarter from before the pandemic.

“Industry leaders said they fear a lack of labor may shutter more establishments as the economy reopens,” AP said.

On the bright side, the latest jobs report said restaurant hiring has surged in San Diego.

In any case, expanded outdoor dining will be allowed for at least another year in San Diego. There don’t seem to be many contrarians, though one caller to the council meeting said caution should be exercised in using the pandemic to relax regulations.

Further, the city is subsidizing some businesses by allowing them to use public property, while other businesses can’t do that logistically or financially. Councilmembers Sean Elo-rivera and Monica Montgomery Steppe expressed concern about that inequity.

Finally, one interesting aspect of this is the lack of controversy about putting dining patios in the streets. Lowe told the Voice of San Diego the city had received almost no complaints about the loss of parking.

That’s remarkable. Typically, if anything can start an argument in San Diego, it’s taking away parking spaces.

Tweet of the Week

Goes to Keli “Pfizer” Dailey (@kelidailey), director of communications program at Mills College.

“My only question abt COVID restrictions ending is - is the bathroom open?”