Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Hospitality | May 31, 2023

City Council Vote Makes Chicago’s Outdoor Dining Program Permanent

Chicago’s City Council on Wednesday City approved an ordinance introduced last week by Mayor Brandon Johnson to establish a long-term version of the Expanded Outdoor Dining program. The ordinance creates legal means for restaurants and bars to continue responsibly operating on the roadway immediately in front of or adjacent to their establishments.

“With the passage of this ordinance, outdoor dining is here to stay in Chicago,” said Johnson. “Enabling restaurants and bars to offer outdoor dining in the warmer months is not only crucial to their bottom lines and ability to support more jobs, but it is also a practice that Chicagoans have come to expect and deeply appreciate.”

The program approved by City Council establishes the Outdoor Dining Street Permit, which permits licensed establishments to expand their operations. The permits are valid from May 1 through October 31 on an annual basis.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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