Broadway restaurants give a taste of what outdoor dining patios could look like
NEWPORT — At the request of the City Council during a workshop held last month, the owners of seven restaurants on Broadway have created design specifications for outdoor dining patios situated in parking areas along the street.
The proposed design will be taken up by the City Council during its meeting Wednesday night. Also on the agenda is a resolution that would allow for seasonal outdoor dining — at “street cafes” — on Broadway and a proposed ordinance for such establishments.
At the council workshop on April 20, Councilor Kathryn Leonard called the current look of Broadway’s outdoor dining “distasteful,” and argued for more aesthetically pleasing patios to be installed for the public’s sake.
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“If we want businesses to do well, it’s good for everybody, but at the same time the public has to have some kind of trade-off for the spaces they can’t use,” Leonard said.
According to the design proposal from the seven restaurants — Boru, Corner Café, Humming Bird, Malt, Pour Judgement, Scratch Kitchen and Tavern on Broadway — white uniform jersey barriers will purchased together and used.
They will be 48 inches long and 32 inches tall, with up to 32 inches of gap space between them “where the restaurant owners will install tasteful landscaping planters and plants.”
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There will be no tents or wooden structures on the barriers or in the outdoor area, the proposal says, though “colorful” umbrellas could be placed to “add to the aesthetic appeal.”
The resolution, co-signed by council members Jamie Bova, Charlie Holder, Lynn Underwood Ceglie and Angela McCalla and Mayor Jeanne-Napolitano, “endorses the concept of street cafes on Broadway” and asks the city solicitor to review and make recommendations on a proposed ordinance.
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According to the ordinance, street cafes can operate over the six-month period from May 1 to Oct. 31 for a seasonal fee of $1,500 and must be issued a permit. Street cafes can only operate on Broadway from Gould Street to Farewell Street.
Street cafes must close by 11 p.m., the proposal says, and café areas must be cleared of all trash and swept daily. No entertainment, the cooking of food or advertisements would be permitted in the café areas.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: Broadway restaurants in Newport, RI, propose outdoor patio design
