Duane Hicks
Some downtown restaurants may start providing outdoor seating during the summer months.
The idea is to develop street cafes in conjunction with the new Rainy Lake Market Square.
Existing Scott Street restaurants would have seating on the sidewalk outside their businesses so patrons could enjoy food and beverages in the open air.
Tannis Drysdale, a consultant with the Rainy River Future Development Corp., has met with local restaurateurs to gauge interest and brainstorm, with the most recent meeting being held Oct. 25.
She will be preparing a report for town council’s consideration shortly.
“We had meetings with restaurants and there was some initial interest, so we began to pursue some of the regulatory changes that would be required,” Drysdale noted.
“At this point, the next step is to prepare a report with the positives and potential negatives and send that to council.”
Drysdale noted street cafes would create more activity downtown and help “grow tourism.”
“We want to make sure that the market square is part of a vibrant downtown but not a destination in itself; it should be part of a larger destination,” she explained.
Having street cafes also benefits local residents.
“Summer is short in Northwestern Ontario,” Drysdale said.
“This is another way we can celebrate what’s great about living here,” she reasoned.
On the other hand, having outdoor seating is an investment for the participating restaurants and carries some financial risk, Drysdale conceded.
“Scott Street is a busy street so there’s traffic on it,” she noted.
“We don’t know if it will be successful or not.
“And it will take up a few parking spots, too, and that could potentially have a negative impact,” she added.
If the plan goes ahead, the participating restaurants would have seating in front of their business during the summer.
Temporary boardwalks with railings would be built onto the street in front of those restaurants so pedestrians passing by could walk around the seating areas.
These would be taken down once summer is over.
Drysdale said she’s received “good input” from restaurants, downtown merchants, and residents, but stressed council ultimately will have the final say over whether they’re on board with the sidewalk cafe idea.
Flint House owner Duane Cridland said he’s looked at the proposal and the logistics of it, and that it looks to be “very forward-thinking.”
“It can shake some things up, create some change, create a little bit more downtown traffic,” he remarked.
“We’re certainly going to be all-in and do whatever we can do to help to get the promotion off the ground in the spring,” added Cridland.
“We’re excited about it.”
Cridland said he senses positive change in the community, and the time is right for trying new ideas such as the sidewalk cafes.
“Things have been getting better and better in our district,” he noted.
“The whole feel of our district is getting better with New Gold moving forward.”
Cridland added the area is “lucky” to have an industry come in and replace the former one so soon after the paper mill here closed.
Meanwhile, Ben Morelli, owner of From the Grind Up, also is on board with the sidewalk cafes.
“I think, in theory, it sounds like a really good idea,” he enthused.
“[But] just like anything, we’ll have to wait and see how everything unfolds and just make sure it’s not too cost-prohibitive to do.
“You have to weigh the pros with the cons,” Morelli added. “But right now, it looks like a great idea.
“It’ll be a nice addition, especially once the market square goes up, for restaurants to have that sort of outdoorsy feel or community feel, where the whole street is one big event,” he said.
