Philadelphia Embraced Outdoor Dining. Until It Didn’t.
In the latter months of 2022, fans of Philadelphia’s streeteries (which emerged under the city’s sidewalk dining program during the COVID-19 pandemic) celebrated the city’s seeming embrace of curbside dining. In October, the city provided a rubric by which Philadelphia restaurants can apply to permanently occupy stretches of street formerly reserved for parking. However, by late December, the restrictions of the new program eclipsed much of the initial excitement and, as a result, some of the city’s most popular restaurants were hurriedly dismantling their outdoor structures in anticipation of a “crackdown.”
On January 11, 2023, Mike Strauss, co-owner of Mike’s BBQ and Sidecar Bar & Grille, responded to the developments with an op-ed in Philly Mag titled, “Our City Chose Illegal Parking Over Its Vibrant Dining Scene.” In it, he says, “When the city made the outdoor dining program permanent, it felt like they were telling us: ‘We are here to help, but only 10 percent of you.’ My restaurant is not one of those businesses.”
In the ordinance, several Business Improvement Districts (including Fishtown, Northern Liberties, stretches of Washington Avenue and East Passyunk) were granted the right to occupy curbside parking with outdoor dining structures, but additional locations would require city council member approval—a process which some describe as cumbersome and confusing. Even for those in the approved districts, the regulations mandated design standards and, according to several restaurant owners, offered too tight of a timeline to build everything up to code. According to the Streets Department, permit processes could take up to 30 days before approval, and that includes paying over $1,700 for a license, in addition to making necessary structural changes. These stipulations were announced in late October 2022 and enforcement was scheduled to begin January 9, 2023.
On January 9, The Inquirer reported that none of the 50 applicants—a fraction of the nearly 800 outdoor dining structures that defined the city’s streets since 2020—were approved. Without word on their status and the threat of enforcement fast approaching, Stina Pizzeria in South Philly decided to disassemble its streetery on January 8. “We were scared that if we didn’t have it down, we’d get fined,” said Bobby Saritsoglou, owner of Stina.
While Stina is seeking to reapply and rebuild, others are fatigued by the ambiguities and financial risks. “The regulations are impossible,” said Jeff Kile, General Manager of Good Dog Bar, “and the city kept back-peddling on what we were allowed to do.” In June 2020, with the approval of the city, the bar debuted a minimal set up flanked by wine barrels. By the winter, their streetery took on a more established shape, fitted with electricity and heating, all within the guidelines the city provided at that time, according to Kile. The bar was even able to reach an amicable agreement with the landlord next door to expand their outdoor space, and did so, hiring more staff to keep up with the crowds and square footage.
“You were finally allowed to bring your dog to Good Dog!” Kile said, but that era has ended with the updated regulations. Now, the 20-year-old bar, located in all three stories of a 100-year-old Philadelphia rowhome, would only be able to occupy the area immediately outside of its entrance, as the space allowed by the neighboring landlord wasn’t authorized by the city. Kile also enumerated discrepancies between what the permit handbook and the regulation itself required, a frustration echoed by many restaurant owners across Philadelphia. Ultimately, Good Dog felt it had no choice but to say goodbye to its streetery and the extra help it hired in December.
“Choosing an empty parking spot over a bustling restaurant is disappointing,” wrote Mike Strauss in his aforementioned op-ed. Countless business owners and patrons echo his words, questioning Philadelphia’s priorities compared to other cities. Pittsburgh, for example, not only mandates less of its permanent structures but charges $150 for the annual license, compared to Philadelphia’s $1,750.
When confronted with the facts of this story, Strong Towns Senior Editor Daniel Herriges remarked that city planning has a strong bias toward intervention and micromanagement. “Cities like to err on the side of anticipating possible problems in advance, rather than dealing with angry constituents after the fact. But this often means erecting an onerous series of hoops that a business owner or resident has to jump through even to do things that are nominally ‘allowed.’”
Surprised by the low level of applicants and the backlash, Philadelphia is considering revisiting its stipulations. “There is a problem, we feel. Based on the regulations and everything we created, we expected about 500 restaurants to take advantage of this opportunity,” Deputy Streets Commissioner Richard Montanez said. “There is a possibility that we will review those rules and regulations and ask to change some of them.”
Kile of Good Dog Bar can’t wait until he can host dogs again, but admits that he won’t apply until Philadelphia meaningfully loosens the restrictions. Strauss of Mike’s BBQ and Sidecar hopes that city officials will recognize that “Philly is a great place to visit, not because it’s a great place to park. Seeing people outside—enjoying themselves, laughing, eating—is much better than staring at cars.”
When the owners of Lawrence Hall bought the abandoned building, they had a vision of reviving it into a food hall that would support small businesses and help their community thrive. They never imagined that a few parking spots would put their dream on hold for seven years.