Expanded Outdoor Dining Program Created In Avon Lake

AVON LAKE, OH — Mirroring other Ohio cities, Avon Lake is rolling out a new expanded outdoor dining program to aid local restaurants and bars.

City officials said the program is designed to offset losses created by the new coronavirus pandemic. The program was first discussed by Avon Lake City Council on May 11. The ordinance authorizing the program was passed June 5.

Avon Lake Economic Development Director Ted Esborn said many of the businesses he talked to were interested in expanding their outdoor dining space so they could more safely serve customers.

“My biggest takeaway,” said Esborn, “was that nobody was talking about putting tables and chairs in a street or a big shared parking lot. They were talking about the walkway in front of their restaurant, or an unused spot on their property. That settled some of our biggest concerns and allowed us to push forward.”

Avon Lake officials are working with the Ohio Division of Liquor Control so that a temporary dining area will also have the right to serve alcohol.

The temporary expanded outdoor dining permit will be valid for 180 days for restaurants and bars. Interested businesses cannot make structural changes to create the outdoor dining space, meaning restaurants cannot erect new fences, walls or paving. Business owners also cannot install new lighting, except for lighting on the tables.

Temporary outdoor dining areas must close by 10 p.m.

Music, live or recorded, is barred in temporary dining spaces. Residents near restaurants can complain to officials if noise from the outdoor dining space becomes a nuisance.

“The city’s goal was to create space that allows for more socially distanced customers,” said Esborn. “For that to work, we need the temporary spaces to be pretty simple so that they don’t disturb the balance in our neighborhoods.”

Similar outdoor dining expansion programs have been approved in nearby Lakewood.