Miller-Valentine Supports Efforts to Help Downtown Dayton Restaurants Thrive
As you begin returning to some of your favorite downtown social spots, you may notice the exterior of many food and beverage establishments looking a little different.
Expanded patios to include planter boxes, plants/flowers, and pedlets will be a new addition to many downtown Dayton restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, and bars in the coming weeks. But this is no mere streetscape or beautification project. The measures are part of a broader effort to provide a lifeline to these businesses during our extended period of social distancing.
On June 1, the City of Dayton began granting temporary waivers allowing restaurants and bars to add or expand outdoor seating into adjacent parking lots, sidewalks, and even the right-of-way. The waivers will enable business owners to reclaim some of the seating that has been limited by state safety guidelines for the coronavirus.
Miller-Valentine Group is partnering with Requarth, Siebenthaler’s, the Downtown Dayton Partnership (DDP), and the City of Dayton to design cost-effective plans to safely add outdoor seating. The options include using planter boxes, attractive rope chains, or temporary railings to define the newly expanded spaces. Other solutions include pedlets, which are temporary, wooden sidewalk extensions. The pedlets will bump out into the street, enabling restaurants to expand onto sidewalks or right-of-ways while providing pedestrians with a safe area to walk.
The design and materials will be tailored to each restaurant, based on their needs and space. The planter boxes, which restaurants will be free to paint or decorate, and pedlets are being built by our Associates. Requarth Lumber is generously donating all of the materials, and the Siebenthaler Company is providing flowers, grasses, and other plants for the boxes.
You can see a prototype of these efforts at Mudlick Tap House on East Second Street. The expanded patio will add several additional seating spaces, which will offset the loss to social distancing requirements.
As a matter of principle, we take an active role in supporting the communities we serve. In the past five years, Dayton has experienced a boom in its downtown restaurant, coffee, and microbrewery scene. These businesses are part of and key to Dayton’s ongoing revitalization and they have all been hit hard by actions to contain the coronavirus. We are proud to be part of a team that is dedicated to helping our local businesses survive and thrive as we adjust to life during a pandemic.
You can do your part, too. Check out DDP’s Open* Downtown webpage for a list of downtown restaurants that offer carry out, curbside pickup, delivery, and inside/outside dining. (DDP also maintains lists for businesses and other services that remain open, as well as for things to do.)
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