Enjoying The Expanded Patio Seating In Fort Collins? Could Be Here To Stay

To help businesses early on in the COVID 19 Pandemic, a lot of local restaurants in Fort Collins, and all over Colorado, utilized outdoor and patio seating to extend their capacity or to be able to operate at all. Now, almost two years later, these new seating additions may be here to stay.

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Patio Seating Here To Stay In Fort Collins?

Back when the COVID 19 Pandemic really got crazy in March of 2020, thousands of restaurants and businesses had to shut their doors. It forced most businesses and restaurant owners to get creative and think outside the box. In the beginning, it was mostly converting dine-in to take-out. When the rules and regulations were loosened a bit, outdoor eating was allowed but a majority of restaurants didn't have that option at the time. That's when the creativity of creating sidewalk patios, or even parking lot patios became a thing. While some simply threw space together just to be able to operate, some went the extra mile and created some very nice outdoor eating space. The ones who just did it because they had to, have mostly moved on from those tossed together spaces, but the ones who really benefited from the extra space might get to keep it.

Our friends at the Coloradoan are reporting that more than 25 extended space patios and parking lot patios are still in use in the City of Fort Collins alone and that the city is now considering a "nonemergency-related extended outdoor dining program" that may launch in the fall. If launched, what does that mean? It means that the local folks around Fort Collins utilizing this extra space would be approved to continue to do so permanently instead of temporarily. Do you enjoy the new outdoor eating options around town? As long as it's not freezing cold or burning hot, I love eating outdoors. Especially these days. It's a great vibe in the warmer weather around Old Town and I hope it's here to stay. See the full story from the Coloradoan HERE.