Restaurants in Alexandria will be able to continue using parking spaces and parking lots for outdoor dining — a program put in place due to coronavirus concerns that has proved popular among restaurants and diners.
Earlier this year, the City of Alexandria put a program in place to help restaurants attract business when health restrictions lifted to allow outdoor dining.
In addition to closing the 100 block of King Street to most vehicular traffic (a long-term interest of some city officials years before the pandemic), the program includes expanded outdoor dining across Alexandria.
This program allows restaurants to request permission to put tables in curbside parking spaces and in parking lots, and expedited requests for other outdoor dining expansions, curbside delivery and take-out systems.
That program will continue through March 2021, city officials have decided.
Some restaurant-goers feel uncomfortable eating inside a restaurant but are comfortable eating outside — and being able to accommodate those diners has been financially helpful for many local restaurants. In addition, the City of Alexandria has been offering grants to restaurants and other businesses in need of assistance in getting equipment and business systems to serve customers during the pandemic.
As temperatures cool, many restaurants are starting to put up heaters, tents and other structures that will help keep restaurant-goers protected from the elements while allowing for increased air circulation that can make outdoor events somewhat safer than indoor events.
Alexandria recently started requiring people to wear masks indoors and outdoors in public places where social distancing is difficult. This includes at restaurants except when physically eating.
