'It's been a game changer': Victoria restaurant hoping to save outdoor patio from bylaw
Outdoor patios on city-owned property quickly became a lifeline for many Victoria restaurants throughout the pandemic. They continue to be popular with customers but two don’t currently comply with city bylaws and those restaurants have been told the patios will have to go.
“It honestly has changed our summers completely,” said Heather Radloff, a manager at 5th Street Bar and Grill in Victoria. The outdoor patio space flipped the business upside down in a good way.
“We were very busy in the winter but now we’re just consistent all the way through the year,” said Radloff.
Now as summer approaches, the City Of Victoria has told the establishment the patio will have to go.
“It’s us and the Beagle,” said Radloff. “We’re both on boulevards and so that doesn’t fall under the parks bylaw that they just amended and so they’re saying that we have to get everything off of here by May 31.”
Other pop-up patios around Victoria are taking up parking spots, eating into sidewalks and in the Broad Street example, an entire block has been closed to vehicle traffic by the city.
They all get to stay.
“We feel very lucky,” said Mike Colwill, owner or the Fernwood Inn. Its patio space can stay as it’s on the street.
With the city giving them the green light, construction is about to begin on an improved space, one that complies with new city bylaws.
“It’s been really good for the community,” said Colwill. “Bringing people out, sitting on the streets, getting to say hi to neighbours.”
Colwill says the patio got the Fernwood Inn through the challenges of COVID-19 and that customers want it to stay.
5th Street Bar and Grill says it wants to work with the city to find a way to keep the patio.
CTV News spoke with several city councillors who said they are working to find a solution.
5th Street Bar and Grill has launched a change.org petition to keep the patio.
“We were at 1,500 [signatures] on Friday and today I looked and we’re at 3,016,” said Radloff.
Radloff hopes the online petition will garner more city attention so a solution can be found.
“It’s been a game changer,” said Radloff.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Shameful': Monument honouring fallen soldiers included names of living veterans
Veterans are asking for answers after discovering that two sculptures in Ontario honouring fallen soldiers include the names of many people who are very much alive.
'If it ain't broke don't fix it': U.S. ambassador warns Canada against cutting Mexico out of trilateral trade deal
Cutting Mexico out of the current North American free trade deal 'may not be the best path to take,' says U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.
Canada's air force took video of object shot down over Yukon, updated image released
The Canadian military has released more details and an updated image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023.
Cookie inflation: How much more is your holiday baking costing you this year?
Estimate how much more your Christmas cookies will cost to bake this year compared to the past five years using Statistics Canada's monthly average retail price data.
Smash and grab: Canada sees a spike in jewelry store robberies
Many cities across Canada are seeing a spike in jewelry store robberies in recent months.
Invasive species could be hiding in your Christmas decor. Here's how to stop the spread
Make sure to look through your holiday decorations, as Christmas trees, wreaths, and other natural decor can have invasive insects, eggs, and plants that pose a threat to local ecosystems and the economy.
This watch was carved from a meteorite that hit Earth a million years ago
A new watch from design duo Toledano & Chan has been carved from a meteorite that slammed into Earth around one million years ago.
Police find bag carried by gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, say he likely fled NYC on bus
Investigators found a backpack in Central Park that was carried by the shooter, police said Friday, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and a densely wooded section called 'The Ramble.'
A police photographer recounts the harrowing day of the Polytechnique massacre
Montreal crime scene photographer Harold Rosenberg witnessed a lot of horror over his 30 years on the job, though nothing of the magnitude of what he captured with his lens at the Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989. He described the day of the Montreal massacre to CTV Quebec Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin.