Halifax Restaurants Receive $40,000 Break From Patio Fees
HALIFAX – Restaurant owners who plan to operate their patios or sidewalk cafes this sunny season just got a fee break from the Halifax Regional Municipality. Between April 7 and December 31, the seasonal “sidewalk café” fees will be waived to help an industry which has been hit hard by Covid-19.
The Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented environment of economic uncertainty that has directly and immediately impacted residents and businesses in HRM. The Municipality wishes to provide support to assist restaurant and café proprietors with economic recovery from Covid-19 by providing relief of the sidewalk café fee.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented environment of economic uncertainty that has directly and immediately impacted residents and businesses in HRM,” states the official bylaw amendment.
“The Municipality wishes to provide support to assist restaurant and café proprietors with economic recovery from Covid-19 by providing relief of the sidewalk café fee.”
Halifax also waived these fees last year to help the restaurant industry. Based on past data, the waiving of fees will cost the HRM $40,000 in revenues, but they expect to offset the loss by increased revenue from the uptake in building permits.
Luc Erjavec, Vice President of the Atlantic Region for Restaurants Canada, says these savings will help restaurant operators who are struggling to get by during the pandemic.
“We’re really pleased that they’re recognizing, at this point in time, every little bit helps. Everyone is anxious to get their patios out, and this is a great step in the right direction.”
Operators are charged anywhere before $250- $800 for a seasonal ‘sidewalk café’ or patio. The only exception are temporary cafes where the chairs and tables are removed at the end of every day, in which case there are no fees.
Operators are also charged $150 for every parking metre and street post that must be moved to make room for the patio or café. So, for larger patios, the seasonal fees can get expensive under normal circumstances.
“It could be several thousands of dollars for a large patio if you’re using a number of parking spots,” explains Erjavec. “It varies because patios are all different sizes.”
Bill Pratt is the owner of Chef Inspired Group of Restaurants. In the HRM alone, he has six restaurants, including Studio East and two Cheese Curds locations, that have seasonal patios, so he will save a decent chunk of change from the fee waiver. Pratt, like many other restaurant owners, have become more reliant on outdoor seating since the pandemic started.
“Oh, it’s critical, because people don’t want to go inside,” exclaims Pratt. “Some people, they come in, pick (the food) up, and sit in their car. There still are a lot of people who are afraid, and we can’t fault them for that. They want to be outside, and we have to be a little more liberal on that.”
“Seating has been cut in half…so we try to push the patios as far into the season as we could, by closing it in, getting some propane heaters, as long as people felt okay being okay. So, we went until November last year. This year, we will open as early as we can get a permit.”
Governments across Canada have recognized the new importance of patios for the restaurant industry and have made rule changes accordingly.
Back in November Halifax Regional Council made it easier for operators to have outdoor seating year-round. Most recently, the Nova Scotia Government granted a long-time request of the industry to give restaurants the option of allowing dogs on patios in order to attract more business.