Tampa Expands Outdoor Restaurant Seating Onto Sidewalks, Roads

TAMPA, FL — As Tampa restaurants reopen at the mandated 25 percent capacity, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is giving restaurant owners a chance to expand outdoors.

Under Gov. Ron DeSantis' first phase of reopenings, restaurants and other retail businesses are permitted to reopen at 25 percent of their indoor capacity but there are no limits on outdoor dining space other than maintaining social distancing.

With that in mind, Castor has launched a pilot project she's dubbed "Lift Up Local" that allows restaurants and retail businesses to expand their outdoor capacity into designated public rights of way or to use privately owned sidewalks or parking facilities for restaurant seating and retail merchandise. She's also closing off certain roads to allow restaurant seating in the streets.

She said this will allow businesses to expand their capacity while still ensuring 6-foot separation requirements are met.

“We want to lift up our local businesses through this recovery and empower them to reopen responsibly,” said Castor. “By giving our local business owners as many tools and as much space as possible to safely serve guests, we can work together to protect our workforce, our customers and our community. Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and we need their help to safely and successfully reopen our city and get back to all the things we love--one step at a time.”

During the 14-day pilot, any business located in the City of Tampa may establish a "parklet" on the sidewalk immediately adjacent to its establishment frontage or in its private parking spaces. The need to apply for a city permit is suspended during this pilot, however, landlord or property manager approval may still be required.

If available, a business may request to use adjacent city parking spaces. The city will work with the business owner to temporarily disable applicable parking meters so the parking spaces can be repurposed for use by the business.

Restaurants may set up tables and chairs in these "parklets" subject to a set of separation and safety standards and guidelines. Retailers may use the spaces for a sidewalk sale-type set-up. The city will establish one of these "parklets" on Swann Avenue between Oregon and Rome avenues to remain in place during the pilot.

The city has also closed off roads and designated seven Cafe & Retail Zones for businesses in concentrated areas. These zones will be blocked to traffic during the 14-day pilot (except the SOHO location which will be blocked only during the evening hours). These zones are solely intended for dining or retail uses.

To participate in the zones, restaurants are required to use a reservation system to prevent congregating and loitering. Tables and chairs may not be moved or reconfigured and must be separated by 6 feet at all times.

Safety requirements and compliance with the governor’s order will be strictly enforced in the Cafe & Retail Zones, said Castor. It is prohibited to gather in these spaces unless you are dining or visiting a retail location. Individuals and groups not in compliance will be removed from the Cafe & Retail Zones. Establishments that do not comply with operating restrictions will be prohibited from continuing to participate in use of the outdoor space.

The designated Cafe & Retail Zones are:

• Downtown: Twiggs Street (Tampa to Franklin streets)
• Downtown: Franklin Street (Madison to Polk)
• Hyde Park Village: South Dakota Avenue/West Snow Avenue (Swann to South Rome avenues)
• Ybor City: 7th Avenue (15th to 21st streets)
• Tampa Heights: Franklin Street (Kay Street to Palm Avenue)
• West River: Grand Central Avenue (Kennedy Boulevard to Hyde Park Avenue)
• SOHO: South Howard Avenue (Morrison to Bristol avenues) from 5 to 10 p.m.

The Tampa Police Department will patrol these areas to prevent social gathering violations and the pilot program will be reassessed as needed.

Click here for the Lift Up Local guide book.