Welcome back to Eater News, a biannual roundup of mini news. Do you have information to share? Email with information to seattle@eater.com.
Seattle is extending free al fresco dining permits through May 2022
On Monday, May 17, the Seattle City Council unanimously voted to extend its popular outdoor café program for another seven months beyond the expected fall-off date, and Mayor Jenny Durkan is expected to sign it into law. With this invoice, restaurants, bars and cafes can apply for and keep free outdoor seating until May 31, 2022.
Outdoor and sidewalk dining areas have been a lifeline for many restaurants in the city since the program was implemented last summer, and the expansion will allow lawmakers to explore a “path to consistency”. Councilor Dan Strauss said the Seattle Department of Transportation plans to use this interim period to see if there is a way to put in place firm regulations for outdoor and sidewalk seating.
Most likely, any permanent solution would involve some restaurant fees, although the possible cost is unclear. For now, another year of more outdoor dining should help businesses overcome the ongoing COVID uncertainty. “For Hattie’s Hat, the opportunity to run a sidewalk café helped us survive 2020,” said Max Genereaux, owner of the popular Ballard bar. “But we still have a long way to go to recover from the financial impact of the pandemic.”
Washington Bars are now allowed to offer free alcohol to vaccinated guests
Until now, Washington law did not allow giving away free beer to those who received a COVID vaccine. The best breweries could do to encourage people to take a shot was a heavy discount. The state’s Liquor & Cannabis Board recently changed its rules so that bars and restaurants can now offer free drinks to those who show proof of vaccination, with some intricate restrictions. The changed regulations are only valid until June 30th. In their promotions, companies cannot use the words “free” or “free”, only that the company is buying a drink on behalf of the customer. Guests are also limited to just one drink and must provide evidence to the server that they were vaccinated between May 15 and June 30 (either with their first or second shot).
Details on the revitalization of the Volunteer Park Cafe are brought into focus
In 2020, James DeSarno, a Seattle-based architect and co-owner of the Freehand Cellars winery in the Yakima Valley, took ownership of the most popular Volunteer Park Cafe on Capitol Hill. After closing in early November, DeSarno said the cafe will eventually reopen as a hybrid restaurant, market, and bottle store – and more details are now coming into focus. According to the Seattle Met, Crystal Chiu and Melissa Johnson, two bread and pastry experts who have spent time in the Canlis kitchen (Chiu was formerly the restaurant’s chief pastry chef), are Crystal Chiu and Melissa Johnson. With the goal of reopening the café this spring, the duo plan to work on a menu of biscuits, cakes, pies, breakfast rolls, soups, salads and happy hour snacks soon.