Architect Develops Design Schemes for Outdoor Dining

Restaurants across America are emerging from months of quarantine, and New York City, one the metro areas hit hardest by COVID-19, is leading the way.

Architect David Rockwell of the local Rockwell Group teamed up with the NYC Hospitality Alliance, a non-profit association that serves restaurant and nightlife establishments, to create five prototype designs for outdoor dining expansion. The goal: To help city officials visualize how restaurants could expand their footprints to the outdoors in order to reopen safely. Specifications include options for both sidewalk and roadway seating.

The designs go hand-in-hand with the city's Open Restaurant Program, an effort to expand outdoor seating options, enhance social distancing, and help restaurants rebound from difficult economic times.

Visualizing Options for Outdoor Dining

Rockwell Group's prototypes, which are still being refined, offer a starting point for safe and flexible outdoor dining. They were designed to accommodate a wide range of restaurants and street conditions. Five different levels, from bare bones to more intricate, are envisioned for restaurants that need the flexibility to customize build-outs to align with their unique outdoor configurations and constraints. The prototypes address flooring, barriers, shading, lighting, and furniture as well as space for sanitation and restaurant equipment, says the firm.

For its prototypes, the architects developed models based on actual restaurants in each of the city's five boroughs. The designs show how existing sidewalks and street space can accommodate socially distant dining configurations and diverse streetscapes.

One concept for modular design was based on a prototype for outdoor expansion at Melba's Restaurant in Harlem. The “test fit" kit includes a base module, a service and sanitation station, two sidewalk decks, and street fencing. Accessories include lighting, umbrellas, fans, and planter benches.

Andrew Rigie, executive director of the NYC Hospitality Alliance, says that giving city officials a way to visualize outdoor dining scenarios helped fast-track a plan for enabling restaurants to resume table service following about 90 days of mandatory dining room closures. “The city developed a free and straightforward process to facilitate outdoor expansion without a lot of red tape and bureaucracy," he says.

In fact, Rigie notes, a process that used to involve cumbersome permitting forms and months of waiting has been transformed into a quick and easy self-certification program. More than 2,000 restaurants in New York City applied for outdoor dining permits in less than 24 hours after the city's Open Restaurant's web page went live. Expanded outdoor seating was allowed as of June 22, 2020.

Feeding the Economy

The return of table service is a lifeline for restaurateurs. The economic impact of the restaurant industry in New York City is huge. There are more than 25,000 restaurants in the five boroughs, employing more than 300,000 people. Statewide, the New York restaurant industry's annual pre-pandemic sales were nearly $52 billion in 2018. And, according to the National Restaurant Association, every dollar spent in the table service segment of the industry contributed $1.76 to the state's economy in 2018.

Rigie adds that Rockwell's involvement in the policy process was invaluable. “Rockwell is an iconic firm, particularly in the restaurant industry," he says. “Their designs engaged and excited people, and demonstrated what outdoor dining could look like."

Every restaurant's needs and preferences are unique. But Rockwell's modular designs are adaptable blueprints intended to make it faster and more economical for restaurants to scale their own expansion.

Costs, says Rigie, run from free to tens of thousands of dollars. Some restaurants may opt to simply move unused tables and chairs out to the sidewalk, while others will invest big bucks in designing more elaborate outdoor dining environments.

A Breath of Fresh Air

For Mil Gustos Hospitality Group, which owns three restaurants in Brooklyn, New York, and another in one New Jersey, the ability to add seating on the sidewalk and roadway promises to generate much needed cash flow for the business, and a breath of fresh air for New Yorker metro area residents stir crazy from months of quarantine.

Bogata Latin Bistro, the group's flagship restaurant, closed its 141-seat restaurant in the wake of the pandemic, and has only been offering takeout. But now, the restaurant can take advantage of its 40-feet of street frontage in order to add outdoor tables for 20 guests. Co-owner George Constantinou is also optimistic that the restaurant will soon be able to reopen its backyard patio. That will add seating for another 20 or so patrons.

By repurposing existing furniture, the total investment for expanding outside at all three Brooklyn restaurants cost less than $3,000. The reopening will mean 20 employees will re-join the 50 that have continued working through the pandemic. While that's still well below the pre-pandemic number of 130 employees, it's good news for those who are able to head back to work.

As a precaution, the restaurants will initially provide pre-packaged meals, with disposable plates and utensils, to table-side diners. “People are ready for outdoor dining," says Constantinou. “But the health and safety of our employees and customers is the number one priority for us."

A National Trend

While New York City's outdoor dining strategy just got the official green light, restaurants in other parts of the country have already been going al fresco. Other major cities, such as San Francisco, Philadelphia and Boston, have also started to allow restaurants to expand outdoor seating.

Across the country, cities are trying to help local restaurants emerge from quarantine by streamlining permitting processes and waiving fees. Regulations vary by location. In New York, customers can remove face masks once they are seated, and groups of 10 people are allowed at one table—as long as it's at least six feet away from adjacent tables. What's more, New York state is mandating regular health screenings for all restaurant employees.

For much of the United States, the timing was perfect for reopening restaurants with outdoor dining options. Summertime makes dining outside feasible, even in parts of the country that are too cold during other times of the year.

Rigie hopes that, at least in New York City, the ability to resume table service will be the first step in enabling restaurants to begin operating their inside dining rooms. “Outdoor dining is a critical component for saving the city's restaurant industry," he says. “But it's not a save-all solution. It's the first step on the road to recovery."