The city of Los Angeles launched L.A. Al Fresco in May 2020, a temporary program which allowed restaurants to have outdoor dining amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants could obtain permits for outdoor dining on sidewalks, private property and the streets next to their business. As of Feb. 1, L.A. Al Fresco is no longer temporary as the city has made outdoor dining permanent. Four Cafe on Colorado Boulevard is one of the restaurants that benefitted from this program and that will be reapplying, according to General Manager Bri Bollmann.
“It’s been fantastic for us, having the available outdoor seating. We had this much space, and now we’ve had a huge expanse out there, and in the summer it just pops off, and it’s been wonderful for us,” Bollmann said.
Although Bollmann said the only drawback of the program is less available parking, the program has enhanced dining options.
“Finding parking can be challenging for sure,” Bollmann said. “However, so many people are invited to come and dine, but when we’ve reached capacity, people can go outside because our owner built these beautiful wooden picnic tables out there and they’re just so great for families.”
To make outdoor dining permanent, Four Cafe made some changes to its tables, going from metal patio furniture with umbrellas according to Bollmann.
“Once it became clear that this is going to be a more permanent things, that’s when we invested in the canopy as well as the picnic tables,” Bollmann said.
Penny Oven on Colorado Boulevard will also reapply for L.A. Al Fresco according to shift supervisor Stanzie Ackerman who said the program has come with great advantages.
“I think it creates more foot traffic for the businesses, especially on the strip in Eagle Rock,” Ackerman said. “I think it also builds community and so far socializing for everybody as well.”
Skaf’s on York has offered outdoor dining and plans to keep it according to general manager and social media marketing director Joshua Company.
“We had a meeting last week,” Company said. “The application process is pretty quick. When we last applied, we got it within, I believe, a day or two.”
According to Company, L.A. Al Fresco not only adds dining space but helps support employees better, making a larger impact on the restaurant business.
“Having the extra dine-in, that’s extra revenue for the restaurant, which means employees can always have better pay, they have more hours allocated to them. It’s a big benefit to the restaurants,” Company said. “If you look at European countries, a lot of them have outdoor dining. So with that being said, I just know it’s beneficial to us, for the restaurants in general.”
Contact Francine Ghazarian at ghazarian@oxy.edu
