Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

AUTUMN DINING

The end of patio season bring new challenges for Kamloops restaurants and pubs

Sep 23, 2020 | 4:25 PM

KAMLOOPS — With an election looming in BC, and uncertainty still surrounding the return students to the province’s schools, unease might be the best way to describe how we’ve entered our first fall season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The summer brought local restaurants and pubs some relief, as people were able to gather on expanded patios throughout the downtown cores of Kamloops. However, as cooler weather sets in, those outdoor spaces aren’t likely to be an option for too much longer.

Welcome to fall, COVID-19 edition! With cool weather and shorter days replacing summertime here in the ‘Loops, the patio season is coming to an end. With it, the City’s expanded patio program.

“It was definitely a good thing,” Andrew Koverko, GM of Carlos O’Bryans explains. “Losing all the tables that we did inside, plus the pacing that was required on our normal patio – I mean, we only gained two extra tables on the sidewalk, but those two tables were busy all the time.”

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That seemed to be the case all along Victoria Street throughout the summer. Downtown Kamloops Executive Director Carl DeSantis says the city’s program was well received.

“What a great initiative this was,” DeSantis says. “What it’s done for our restaurants is enhance their capacity – their physical space – for customers to feel comfortable while enjoying everything they have to offer downtown.”

The Province of BC extended the temporary measures which allow for expanded service areas for an additional 12 months, to the end of October 2021. The City’s expanded patio program is set to end October 31st of this year. In the five weeks ahead, downtown businesses feel like there’s still demand for those outdoor spaces.

“Even though there’s not a lot of days in October that are nice to sit outside, we do get the odd one. We live in one of those places where you can get that,” Koverko says. “Especially right now, any day that generates extra revenue is a plus.”

So far, there isn’t much demand to extend past that Halloween deadline. While patio heaters are one option for cooler fall days, putting up a structure to keep the weather off – like a tent – would require action from the city council.

“I think that would be something that council would be willing to entertain,” Councillor Kathy Sinclair says. “We just need to hear that there is a demand for it.”

Then there’s also the extra costs associated with that kind of semi-permanent improvement – both to businesses and the city.

“The revenues right now are a little uncertain going into the fall,” DeSantis says. “With COVID on the increase right now, we’ve got to pay attention and learn from what’s going on elsewhere.”

“The extended patios and the sidewalks were put down really quickly, and they’re not winterized, unfortunately,” Sinclair explains. “That’s another consideration that goes into it.”

However, with that uncertainty of the fall and winter ahead for many restaurants and bars, anything that helps earn extra revenue will be entertained.

“It’s definitely been an interesting summer,” Koverko says. “The winter is definitely going to have a lot of hurdles.”