Hamilton to make street level patios permanent

Hamilton city hall has voted to allow restaurants to prop up street-level patios permanently.

Kerry Jarvi of Hamilton’s downtown BIA says this is ‘monumental’ for businesses struggling to survive.

The benefit was seen in every neighborhood. For businesses that were open during the pandemic, having an outdoor streetside patio saved them, like ‘Mikel Coffee’ from closing down prematurely. Ramy Elghonemi, owner of Mikel Coffee says without a strong delivery service, people depended on sitting on the patio. He says having a patio was a
“savior for us. Saved us from closing down.”

Now that the pandemic is trending in the right direction and indoor dining has returned to full capacity, city councillors and local businesses still saw a benefit in keeping patios around.

As patio season slowly approaches, the city is making sure staff continue to work with accessibility committees to make sure everyone can enjoy dining outside.

City staff will be required to report how the program is going once a year.