City of Santa Fe issued the following announcement on Oct. 30.
Socially distanced outdoor dining renewed for six more months in support of local business owners.
In continued efforts to support local restaurants, The City of Santa Fe is offering a six month extension of the temporary obstruction permits for all restaurants using city streets and sidewalks as outdoor dining space due to COVID-19 occupancy limitations. The additional six month extension also applies to locations with permits for extended outdoor dining on private property. The extension has been automatically extended for 6 months from October 31, 2020 to April 30, 2021.
For the benefit of using these additional outdoor dining spaces, there is no additional cost to restaurants and the extension is automatic, requiring no additional paperwork to be filed with the city. City staff recognize the immense challenges local businesses have faced during the pandemic and seek to continue deploying creative programs to make surviving the burdens brought on by COVID-19 possible.
The new and expanded outdoor dining areas have been a bright spot and attractive option for diners looking for safer ways to enjoy eating out over the last six months. “We have seen an incredible response to the al fresco dining environment from both visitors and local residents,” said Randy Randall, TOURISM Santa Fe Executive Director. “While the outdoor dining expansion was COVID-driven, it has proved to be a popular option, which adds even more charm to the Santa Fe experience, that we hope will continue into the future.”
As the weather grows colder and these outdoor dining areas need to be enclosed, restaurants will also need to abide by the occupancy limits and COVID safe requirements set by the current New Mexico Public Health Order.
With this permit extension, the New Mexico Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) has also automatically extended the temporary footprint expansion allowing for alcohol service in these expanded outdoor dining locations.
Original source can be found here.
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