Downtown Raleigh restaurants want pandemic outdoor dining to be a permanent option

Many restaurants want to make the once-temporary solution of outdoor dining a permanent option.

Raleigh City Council recently approved an extension of outdoor dining through Oct. 30. In weighing whether to make that change permanent, both Raleigh and Durham must consider the impact on parking. Any table in the street takes away a parking space.

Raleigh Mayor Mary Ann Baldwin says the goal is to make downtown a place where diners can arrive at their favorite restaurant on foot or by bike.

Greg Hatem, the owner of The Pit in downtown Raleigh, says outdoor dining adds about 25% to the seat count, and it’s what seems to make people most comfortable.

“As we come out of the pandemic, more people are going to want to eat outside. For us, what we have in front of Raleigh Times, is we have four parking spaces we converted into seating, and that’s something we would enjoy on a permanent basis,” Hatem said.

Bill King, with Downtown Raleigh Alliance says, the organization conducted a survey and found that 90% of businesses and residents preferred outdoor dining.

“Only a few parking spaces are being taken by this, if you think about it. There’s over 8,000 parking spaces in decks and over 1,000 on the street in downtown, so you’re talking about a handful,” King said.

King says outdoor dining also attracts more people to the area and helps many businesses bounce back from a financially difficult year.

"Right now, a significant amount of our dining is outdoors, because we’ve still cut our indoor dining in half just to protect our guests,” Hatem said.

He and other restaurateurs have until October to help Raleigh City Council figure out the logistics that make everyone happy.