Detroit Approves Street Closures and New Sidewalk Seating for Restaurants Amid Pandemic

Eatori Market is among the applicants that have received expedited outdoor seating permits. | Stock Detroit

More restaurants are pursuing outdoor space through an expedited city permitting process

Two weeks after launching a program to expedite outdoor seating permits in Detroit, the city’s restaurants are already taking advantage of the opportunity to move more dining space outdoors. Nicole Simmons, press secretary for the City of Detroit, confirms to Eater that the program has received a total of 84 requests for sidewalk and parking lot patio permits and street closures.

Of those 84 requests, 62 have been approved for sidewalk seating and another eight for parking lot patios. The applicants include spots like Marrow, Chartreuse Kitchen & Cocktails, Fusion Flare Kitchen & Cocktails, Good Times on the Ave, Lost River, and Neveria Michoacana. Six of the approved applications were for street closures:

• Eastern Market: Riopelle Street between the Service Drive and Winder
• Eastern Market: Block between Winder and Adelaide
• Eastern Market: Service Drive across from Thomas Magee’s Sporting House Whiskey Bar and Stache International
• Greektown: Monroe Street between St. Antoine and Beaubien
• Financial District: Shelby Street
• Corktown: The alley Michigan and 14th Street behind Mercury Burger & Bar

The expedited process was introduced as an effort to make way for more outside dining space during the novel coronavirus pandemic. While all public activities such as dining carry risk of virus transmission, experts generally see outdoor activities as lower risk than indoor activities. This has led to a general feeling among customers and restaurant operators that patio seating at social distance is safer than dining inside — especially because masks can’t be worn while eating and drinking.

According to an Eater Detroit survey, roughly 87 percent of respondents expressed a preference for being seated on a patio when service resumed at Detroit-area restaurants. That’s opposed to the 52 percent of participants who said they would be willing to sit in a dining room and the 33 percent of respondents who felt comfortable being seated at a bar.

Given the limited season for outdoor dining in Detroit and the recent loosening of restrictions on dine-in service on Monday, June 8, expediting the permitting process is all the more important for the restaurant industry desperately trying to recover from the economic downturn and partial shutdowns. The city’s program cuts down the processing time for applications from around 60 days to 24 hours for patios. Street closure requests used to take up to a year. Restaurant owners began applying for the permits online on Thursday, June 4 through on detroitmeansbusiness.org. On Thursday, June 11, Annalise Frank of Crain’s reported that 73 requests had been submitted in the first week of the program and 68 had been issued including five street closures.

At the state level, lawmakers are pursuing the designation of “social districts” where cities could establish spaces for outdoor dining and open containers of alcoholic beverages. Officials hope to see the measure passed by the end of the month. Nicole Simmons tells Eater the city has not yet considered any specific locations for social districts.

Eater is tracking the impact of the novel coronavirus on the local food industry. Have a story to share? Reach out at detroit@eater.com.

• Annalise Frank, Crain’s [h/t]
• Southeast Michigan Cities Rush to Expand Patio Seating for Restaurants and Bars [ED]
• Michigan Lawmakers Propose Bills for To-Go Cocktails and ‘Social Districts’ for Outdoor Drinking [ED]
• Detroit Restaurants Take Cautious Steps Toward Dine-In Service [ED]