Friday, April 29, 2005
The sidewalks along Massachusetts Street have become a valuable commodity for local bar and restaurant owners.
Since the city smoking ban took effect last July, some bar and restaurant owners have sought new ways to retain customers who smoke. One option is to obtain a sidewalk dining license, which allows businesses to serve food and beverages on part of the sidewalk, where the smoking ban does not apply.
For the last two months the city commission has discussed altering the requirements for sidewalk dining licenses so more businesses could create sidewalk venues.
Businesses must make 70 percent of their revenue from food and nonalcoholic drinks to get a sidewalk dining license. The commission has discussed various options, from decreasing this percentage to eliminating the food sales requirement entirely.
City commissioner Sue Hack said allowing more businesses to obtain sidewalk dining licenses would alleviate some of the pressures from the smoking ban.
“I really believe it’s worth a try,” Hack said. “If this will help some of our local bar owners stay in business, then we should try it.”
Some restaurants have already gained dining approval.
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Teller’s restaurant, 746 Massachusetts St., will build an outdoor dining area in front of the restaurant during the next month. Sidewalk dining will contribute to the appeal of downtown, Matt Hyde, general manager, said.
“For us, it’s adding to the fabric of downtown,” Hyde said. “More people on the sidewalk will mean more people spending money, which contributes to the success of the city.”
Hyde said the restaurant would build a permanent gate to separate the dining area from the rest of the sidewalk.
But more people on the sidewalk isn’t always good, said city commissioner David Schauner.
Schauner said he was concerned that changing license requirements would result in more smoking and drinking on the sidewalk than dining.
“We need a downtown that is appealing to all kinds of people — students, families, visitors,” Schauner said. “Corrals of people smoking and drinking is not the kind of street scape we need in Lawrence.”
Since March 29, the commission has put a moratorium on new sidewalk dining licenses so regulations can be evaluated and developed. The commission will reconsider license requirements after it receives the evaluations on May 13.
If the commission does change the requirements, Jerry Neverve, owner of Red Lyon Tavern, plans to apply for sidewalk dining. Neverve said his business did not meet current requirements for a license. If his business obtains a license, customers will be able to take their beverages outside if they smoke — something they can’t do now.
“A lot of our customers are outside already,” Neverve said. “We would like to be more hospitable to them.”
Some business owners are content with the current requirements.
Dan Hughes, owner of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop, said he was concerned that more sidewalk dining licenses would cause more trash on Massachusetts Street.
“Since the smoking ban has gone into effect, we’ve seen a ten-fold increase in cleanup,” Hughes said. “The atmosphere in downtown Lawrence is one of the best in Kansas. It needs to be regulated to say that not everybody can put stuff out on the sidewalk.”
— Edited by Kendall Dix
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