Pop-up patio pilot proponents pushing for program's permanency

City officials in Thunder Bay, Ont., say three applicants were approved for a pilot program in its first year to allow summer patios to be built on sidewalks in front of local restaurants.

And while those patios have either opened or soon will, proponents of the pilot are hoping that the seasonal eating spots eventually become permanent features in the northwestern Ontario city.

• Pop-up patios coming to Thunder Bay restaurants

"[This] was something that we really wanted to be a focus and a goal to work toward [for] the business in the years that we've been open," said Jaden Grand, the general manager of Red Lion Smokehouse. The north-side restaurant's patio has been open for about two-and-a-half weeks, she added.

"I'm not from here, same with the owners, we're from near Toronto and we have come from a place where ... we just grew up with patios," Grand continued. "So when we all moved here, we thought 'that's odd, there aren't a lot of patios here.'"

When the city announced the two-year pilot that allows seasonal patios on sidewalks provided the restaurant builds a pedestrian walkway around it, among other regulations it was opened only to establishments in the city's four business associations and improvement areas.

Grand said already she's noticed what having the extra outdoor seating has contributed to the area.

"We have seen a huge influx of people walking around," she said.

"I think it's important coming from larger cities because you see the community that it does build among the downtown core," Grand added. "We really try and promote local down here ... so I think it's really important for the sole reason that it brings the community closer."

The other two establishments that applied and were approved for the pilot are The Foundry and Apple Chipotle's.

The presence of a patio out front, especially in a city that doesn't have many, can, itself, be a form of advertising, said Jason Mackenzie, one of the co-owners of Apple Chipotle's.

"We don't have a lot of big signage out front or anything like that and we haven't done tons of marketing in Thunder Bay yet, so I think people are going to be driving by and ... they're going to be like 'oh, what is this place?'"

Like Grand, Mackenzie said it's a good program that he said he'd like to see continue.

"People love being outside in the summer, and I think it's a great opportunity."

City council will ultimately make the decision on whether the program continues past the two-year pilot phase. The feedback, so far, has been positive, said Joel DePeuter, Thunder Bay's manager of realty services.

DePeuter added that the program has had another benefit: that other restaurants have applied to the city under existing rules where extending the sidewalk isn't required to add smaller patios to their business.

"Our objective in initiating the pilot project, we also wanted to raise awareness that there are other types of patios that folks could apply for under the existing authority," he said.