Outdoor dining parklets and cocktails-to-go extended, local restaurants react
On Friday Governor Gavin Newsom signed bills extending outdoor dining permits and alcohol sales until a year after the pandemic emergency ends. He recently tweeted "Parklet's & to-go cocktails are here to STAY!"
“We are extremely excited and this is the start of our season and we see more and more people and that's a delight," said the general manager at El Patròn, Gina Gonzalez. "The ability to make more money during these still challenging times is a win-win situation. So for him deciding to extend that we appreciate it, we look forward to it and we're excited about it.”
The parklets and cocktails-to-go have given many restaurants a chance to recover from the pandemic.
“I mean being able to sell alcoholic drinks to go is I mean amazing. I don't know why we couldn't do it before," said the owner of Zin American Bistro Mindy Reed. "But it's great that we can do it now. Having that little extra bump in the check for to-go orders is great."
Reed also said eating outside is safer right now.
“So I think that's here to stay for a long time and hopefully the city will follow suit and that will give us the opportunity to really make our parklets into places that are comfortable year-round and more attractive," said Reed. "So having the time to recoup the investment that we've made in that is awesome.”
She said she has invested a lot of money into her parklets and wants them to stay. For now, many local businesses are left with more time to seek permission for permanent approval.
