Scroggs: Outdoor dining platforms 'lifesavers' for business district

Savannah Rattanavong, The Manhattan Mercury, Kan.
·2 min read

Mar. 1—The outdoor dining platforms installed in downtown Manhattan have not only helped support the restaurants they sit in front of but nearby retailers as well, Gina Scroggs, executive director of the business district, said Monday.

During Monday's Riley County Commission meeting, Scroggs gave an update on upcoming events. She also described how downtown's outdoor dining platforms have fared since they were installed last fall as a way to attract business during the pandemic.

"We're probably looking at those being more permanent than not, which is a good thing," she said. "I think in the seven weeks of good on-and-off seasonal dining weather that we had, our restaurants were able to show an increase in sales over not having the platforms, so it was very beneficial."

Scroggs said the district has been sending out surveys and checking in with local businesses, which has elicited positive feedback over the platforms. She said some restaurants reported being able to stay open during the pandemic because of the business brought in by the platforms as well as people patronizing the area from out of town.

"We had lots of people coming in from the region coming in to town saying, 'We came here to dine outdoors, we wanted to feel safe about it and it was a great experience. Then we were looking across the street and saw a pair of shoes in the window,' so that led them to go and then shop."

The city plans to create two more dining platforms outside of AJ's NY Pizzeria and Pool House Kitchen and Bar. The structures are paid for through the city's economic development fund.

"They really become an awesome but safer way to extend the business in the public eye so that's really been a lifesaver for us," Scroggs said.

She mentioned the district has a few activities planned to bring more attention to the structures.

Scroggs said most businesses downtown have said they would reopen slowly or remain unchanged for the time being after the most recent Riley County health order, which went into effect Monday, lifted coronavirus-related gathering restrictions.

She said being able to vaccinate employees under the next phase of Riley County's vaccination plan would be a key component to how willing businesses would be to fully reopen.