The World Cup, the MLB All-Star Game, celebrations of the nation\u2019s 250th anniversary: Not a day seems to go by without an elected official or city booster proclaiming the critical importance of capitalizing on the surge of visitors expected for the many high-profile events happening in Philly next year.<\/p>\n
That was certainly the case at a City Council hearing on sidewalk dining \u2014 specifically, a proposal to allow restaurants around the city to more easily put tables and chairs outside their front doors.<\/p>\n
The main reasons to reform the slow, cumbersome, unpredictable process of getting sidewalk licenses are to boost business, create jobs and add vibrancy to commercial corridors, according to the bill\u2019s sponsor, Councilmember Rue Landau, and other speakers at Tuesday\u2019s hearing.<\/p>\n
But proponents also stressed the need to get the rules fixed in time to let restaurants put on their best faces for next year\u2019s events<\/a>, both for the immediate benefits and to shape the lasting impressions of some 500,000 expected visitors.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is power to outdoor dining beyond just the tables and the chairs,\u201d said Zakary Pyzik, of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association. \u201cIf we get it right, people come back and they spend their money here in Philadelphia. If we don\u2019t, then they won\u2019t. Where they, and particularly how they eat, is critical to the stories that they tell when they return home and the memories that they make here.\u201d<\/p>\n Landau has support for her measure from at least nine other councilmembers and the Parker administration, which sent Philadelphia 2026 Director Michael Newmuis to the hearing to put in a plug for the bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s really no greater way to explore the [city\u2019s] cultural vibrancy than through our incredible, vibrant food opportunities,\u201d he said. \u201cThis legislation is about positioning Philadelphia for long-term success, ensuring that our businesses and our communities are empowered to benefit not just in 2026, but for the years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n Confusing, slow, and out of reach<\/p>\n Landau\u2019s bill would expand the number of streets and areas where restaurateurs could set up sidewalk dining \u201cby-right,\u201d meaning they wouldn\u2019t need City Council to pass an ordinance approving a permit, as is currently required for businesses in most of Philadelphia.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s official support for the measure recalls the Kenney administration\u2019s posture back in June 2020, during the pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Restaurants were allowed to start hosting customers on-site again, but only outdoors. The city temporarily made it easy for them to open both sidewalk cafes and streeteries<\/a> (which typically occupy on-street parking spaces), promising to issue permits within a few days of receiving applications.<\/p>\n That helped spur a boom in al fresco dining, with about 800 restaurants serving outdoors at one point.\u00a0<\/p>\n