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Restaurant Group Welcomes Plan to License Sidewalk Cafes Year-Round
As part of a package of reforms to support small businesses across the city, Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed allowing restaurants to operate outdoor seating areas year-round, weather permitting. That’s an increase from the current nine-month operating period.
The Illinois Restaurant Association (IRA) lauded the proposal. “The IRA has been lobbying for a year-round sidewalk café license since February 2017, when temperatures soared into the 80s,” the group said in a statement.
In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, IRA president and CEO Sam Toia cited a couple of North Side neighborhoods that might be especially conducive to year-round permitting. “It’s all about an experience,” said Toia. “If you’re going after that millennial crowd, those restaurateurs might look at this because this is an experience. You might have more places in River North looking at it than the Gold Coast. Maybe in Logan Square or in Avondale.”
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