CLEVELAND — As winter approaches in Northeast Ohio, Cleveland City Council has given the green light for restaurants and bars to continue to serve outdoors after passing an amendment on Wednesday, extending the Temporary Expansion Area Program until at least June 1, 2021.
The ordinance, first passed by council in June of 2020, permits the use of private parking lots, streets and other public rights-of-way, including onstreet parking areas and parklets (Temporary Expansion Area), as outdoor restaurants.
"This is an important tool to help our great restaurants safely maintain business during the COVID-19 Pandemic," said Councilman Kerry McCormack in a tweet. "In addition to this extension, we must all continue working together to find creative solutions to support our local businesses."
The council indicated that they will seek to extend the measure to November of 2021 in the near future.
Some restaurants in Cleveland have already begun to plan for the cold weather. Betts Restaurant, which opened inside the Kimpton Schofield Hotel off of East 9th street in August, has added outdoor greenhouses to their patio.
The greenhouses can be booked in 2 hour time blocks with smaller ones that seat 2 people and larger ones that can accommodate up to 6 people. Each greenhouse is sanitized in between each use and comes with a space heater to keep the dining area above 65 degrees.
Our Will Ujek recently had a look at this unique concept.
You can watch Wednesday's council meeting in the player below: