Originally Posted by
chgoeditor
Apparently Chicago has extended sidewalk dining permits until Dec. 4. Our sidewalk dining typically ends far before that, but this year I figure we'll all pretend we're in Europe and eat outside under space heaters and bundled up.
I'm not sure that appeals to me - it snowed last year in October...
Also I'm sure you saw that the city is holding a contest to design some type of outdoor dining experience that will work through the winter. I'm just not sure it will work with the small spaces available once you put up tents and heating devices, assuming there will be a need for something like that. My expectation is that we'll see a lot more restaurants go out of business this winter.
Originally Posted by
enviroian
Is indoor dining allowed at 25%
Yes, IL is at 25%. Here's how I've seen that play out at a couple places, admittedly in the suburbs not in Chicago - restaurants will open only half their space and make sure tables are 6 feet apart. So the 25% is kind of stupid. They're basically operating at 50%, but only in 50% of their available space. I assume it helps the servers and maybe even means a little less service staff. Outdoors, patios are 100% full, with tables sometimes 6 feet apart (but people only about 3 feet apart).
I'd like to see the capacity constraint go away, and allow restaurants to operate normally as long as tables are 6 feet apart, at least if windows can be opened. In the winter, maybe a percentage makes more sense. I have a feeling our dining out will decrease in the winter, because there's going to be way more demand than supply, and I'm not disciplined enough to get reservations months in advance.