By Joe Farlo, Staff Writer
And Sofia Williams, News Editor
On Dec. 21, the Manhattan Beach City Council held a meeting in which council members unanimously decided to extend the period where outdoor dining is permitted.
The decision came after Manhattan Beach’s City Council announced on Dec. 15 that outdoor dining would no longer be allowed starting Jan. 3. After the Omicron variant caused a rapid surge of cases in L.A. County, it was decided that outdoor dining would be permitted for safety reasons.
“I like having the option of indoor and outdoor [dining],” Paisano’s owner Dino Capaldi said. “It gives the place a European feel.”
With the extension of outdoor dining comes new regulations on the payments each business needs to make to the city. Previously, businesses in Manhattan Beach had a mandatory fee of $1 per square foot of deck. With the vote on Dec. 21, however, the council decided to triple the fee to $3 per square foot.
“I think that all restaurants should try to offer outdoor seating if they’re able,” sophomore Rylee Tretiak said. “But if the additional cost of outdoor seating would jeapordize their business, I think it’s okay that they only offer indoor seating.”
Although outdoor dining has been extended in both Manhattan Beach and Hermosa Beach, the increase in pricing has only taken effect within Manhattan Beach businesses. According to a Tacolicious employee, the increase in price has been implemented to incentivize businesses to terminate outdoor dining on their own.
“I think the cost may have been increased to get restaurants to willingly give up on [outdoor] dining so people get mad at the restaurant instead of the city,” a server at Tacolicious said.
On Jan. 11, the Manhattan Beach City Council met for the first time since Dec. 21. During the duration of the digital meeting, it was decided that outdoor dining would remain at $3 per square foot. The council also ruled to continue outdoor dining practices until the state of emergency is terminated in California. In the meeting itself, there were 40 members missing from the roll call, an exponential increase in the usual amount of absentees at the meeting.
“I agree with the city on this one—they have to make up for the money lost from their public space, so we have to pay the difference,” Fishing with Dynamite owner David LeFevre said. “I do think [outdoor dining] is worth keeping even at this higher fare.”
In December 2020, the council announced that avenues would be explored to keep outdoor dining permanent. However, it was concluded that to make a decision on the issue, the effects seating decks have on economic development and traffic would have to be observed, especially in highly congested areas like downtown Manhattan Beach.
“I think that it’s important for restaurants to offer outdoor dining,” sophomore Natalia Liang said. “When you’re eating, you’re unmasked, and I think that even after Omicron settles down that outdoor dining could be a selling point for customers.”
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