Since the outdoors remain the safest place for people to gather during COVID-19, Evanston restaurants are moving to the sidewalks this summer to provide additional open-air dining.
Evanston Building & Inspection Services division manager Gary Gerdes said a sidewalk cafe is an outdoor dining space, typically on a public sidewalk. The city waived sidewalk cafe permit fees for the season — which will run from April 1 to Nov. 1 — in an effort to help small businesses during the pandemic. These sidewalk cafes can include parkways, parking lanes and Custer Ave.
“Sidewalk cafes are not new — the shift to use other space is relatively new due to COVID-19. There was less indoor dining space,” Gerdes said. “The city was looking for ways to assist the businesses expand their dining spaces.”