KITCHENER -- Kitchener City Council is offering a helping hand to restaurant owners preparing to reopen patios under Phase Two of the province’s economic reopening on Friday.
Council passed a motion on Monday streamlining the process to open a patio in the city.
“We certainly want to support businesses in the community that we know have been struggling,” said Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic.
The city says it is cutting red tape and will waive any fees typically involved with opening a patio.
The city will also allow restaurants on private properties to extend their outdoor space, into a parking lot.
“We’ll be able to see gatherings of up to ten people I think are going to allow folks to start enjoying the summer a little bit, but doing so in a safe way,” said Vrbanovic.
However, one downtown Kitchener restaurant owner worries while this may be good news for him, it could hurt other businesses.
“Losing all parking spots in these small areas could affect other small businesses, like my neighbour or the Subway, because they won’t have an opportunity to have that patio, but I think the city of Kitchener will find an opportunity to make everyone happy during this new beginning, this new start," said 271 West owner Zeljko Loncar.
Mayor Vrbanovic previously proposed the idea of shutting down several city streets to vehicle traffic this summer to help increase foot traffic, but he says a final decision has not been made.
More on the topic is expected to be discussed at next week’s Regional Council meeting.
