About That Al Fresco

ABC's latest relief measure comes in the form of an emergency, temporary prem expansion permit for restaurants (or bars serving substantial meals).

As long as you have control or permission to use adjacent space (think: wide sidewalks, parking lots, parklets, shopping center common areas, vacant lots), ABC will allow you to expand your license footprint to allow more outdoor dining. 

The Caveat—

While ABC is permitting this upon filing, other agency involvement makes this is a little bit more complicated, especially for our city restaurateurs. Letters need to be sent to police departments, permission needs to be granted by governing bodies/planning departments, and problem neighbors can get this shut down by complaining. We're still looking for guidance from local planning departments and governing bodies on how they will handle this. 

It involves a few hoops, but it's something. It's $100 for the permit and we'll help you for a minimal flat rate. We look forward to seeing the innovative dining arrangements you all come up with.

Let us know if you want assistance in this as our cities and counties begin to reopen for sit-down dining. 

Cash you outside...