Manhattan Beach Outdoor Dining Road Closure To Be Discussed

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — The Manhattan Beach City Council ad hoc committee charged with overseeing outdoor dining in Manhattan Beach will meet tomorrow [Tuesday, Feb. 16] "to evaluate how the street closure went," said City Council member Steve Napolitano who is on the Long Term Business Solutions ad hoc committee created in July 2020 to address business needs during the pandemic.

The committee, which consists of Napolitano and city council member Richard Montgomery, decided to fully close Manhattan Avenue from Manhattan Beach Boulevard to 12th Street starting last Friday. The closure came just in time for MB Post, Fishing With Dynamite, Tacolicious, and Nando Trattoria to expand their outdoor seating capacity just in time for the Valentine's Day weekend and Presidents Day holiday. The closed area also includes an open seating area where diners may bring food purchased anywhere and sit down to eat.

"As I repeatedly say, we're constantly looking at things and we adapt as we go along. At this point, we haven't identified any other street closures. We did what we did where we did because it's relatively flat and easy to execute, most of the businesses on that block are restaurants, and those that aren't, didn't oppose it. And while it's inconvenient to close off any street, of any options discussed, this looked like it would have the least impact," Napolitano told Manhattan Beach Patch last week prior to the road closure.

Napolitano said the ad hoc committee had yet to hear "from anyone regarding other areas to shut down." He noted that closing the pier parking lots has been discussed previously "but they're also pretty far away from all but a few restaurants."

He reported that the ad hoc committee has talked "about additional areas in front of other restaurants, but we've also heard pushback regarding other areas from the retailers in those areas.

"We're doing our best to keep a balance," he said. "The street closure does include open seating, too, and not just seating divided among the specific restaurants adjacent to the closed area."