Greater Vancouver governments moving with uncommon speed to support dining out amid the pandemic
With only half of their indoor tables now available for use, restaurateurs are desperate for more outside space to make up the loss of seatsOn Tuesday, after more than two months of lockdown and eating all meals at the kitchen table, my husband and I went out for lunch. It was the longest I’d gone without visiting a restaurant since I was in high school, sharing plates of fries and bottomless coffees at the neighbourhood pancake house.
No one came within two metres. Our food and drinks were delivered to the edge of the long table and we slid them back when we were done. When it was time to settle, we called up our bill with a QR code pasted to the table and paid by phone without even tapping a card. The entire experience seemed low risk for customers, possibly less so for staff who were struggling with physical distancing among themselves.
Speed is seldom the city administration’s strong suit. Before the pandemic struck, it was not unheard of for a business to wait nine months for a patio approval. But council moved quickly with a motion in April by Councillor Sarah-Kirby Yung asking staff to find ways to cut through the usual red tape.
The city’s plan follows radical shifts occurring in European cities. Rotterdam, the Netherlands, has ditched the permitting system altogether and is allowing all entrepreneurs to build decks and patios in parking spaces in front of their building. In Vilnius, restaurants and bars have been invited to open tables in city plazas and squares.
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