What's wrong with outdoor dining?

It is called "Dining Al Fresno"

Why would one WANT to eat outside in Fresno???

-s

Here's a little outdoor dining tutorial for anyone who might be curious.

One reason that permits for outdoor dining can take awhile is because they do require approval by the Planning Department. There isn't a special fast-track process for these types of permits and they get thrown in the group just like every other project which requires Planning Department approval. This can be a very long process, due to numerous factors. Planning review is a process which involves many different agencies and departments. It's very time consuming!

There are a few constraints (besides the time factor) to getting an outdoor dining permit that can make many business owners a little weary.

1) If the restaurant is located on the property line (meaning the outdoor dining would be on the sidewalk a la Fulton Mall), this would require an encroachment permit (also required for balconies which hang over the sidewalk). It's basically just another step. I'm not exactly sure how much money this costs, but it is more money. Also, you still have to be able to maintain 6 feet of sidewalk after adding the dining areas. There are many sidewalks that are not wide enough to meet this requirement.

2) Parking can be an issue. First, you cannot remove parking spaces and put in the dining area to an existing restaurant. Second, if the dining area is more than 20% of the existing indoor eating area, then more parking will have to be added (and there is a certain requirement for that).

3) The outdoor dining area can never be more than 35% of the indoor dining area of the restaurant. This can be a constraint for some restaurant owners whose indoor space is very small.

4) Bars and cocktail lounges cannot be located in this area. (And for many restaurants, having a drink on the patio is a must. I'm not exactly sure how bars and cocktail lounges are defined, however, so it might be more lenient than it sounds.)

So there is outdoor dining in a nutshell. Hope that clarifies some questions some of you might have.

Tommy has been working on the Mall since the Mall began in 1964. He worked at the Orange Julius when it was located by the Renoir across from the old Security Bank tower. I'm not sure how long ago he started Tommy's Hamburger.

Tommy's is good. The outdoor patio looks fairly new as well. Still, paper napkins...
I heard it used to be an Orange Julius. Does anybody know if this is true?

Tommys has an outdoor patio and the best cheap hamburgers you can find anywhere.

The article did not state what is the policy for eating outdoors in Fresno. I know some restaurants allow it like in River Park, or, Fig Garden's Starbucks and others.
I would like the updated rule to include a provision that all outdoor cafe/bistros would have to provide linen and real silverware to give it a sense of permanence and stay away from the fast food motif with napkins blowing around . It may encourage people to stay longer then they would have normally which I think would give it a real scene to the patio, rather then a place just to scarf down the food and go. I am not saying the food has to be fancy either. A good hamburger is just fine.

Duncan is spot on when it comes to this concept. It's the rare person who would fail to enjoy a nice, cold beverage (alcoholic or not) while enjoying the fresh air outdoors particularly in the spring & summer time. I for one love to sit at a quaint table outdoors (doesn't matter much which restaurant it happens to be) and read a newspaper and people watch. Just look to the places in the Gaslamp district as a model in San Diego and one will see successful implementation of this concept at its best.