REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. - A new outdoor dining policy for public spaces went into effect on Wednesday. That policy requires a minimum width of sidewalk space in front of a restaurant.
Last summer, Claws had tables that extended all the way out to the sidewalk, because of the new rules they had to clear up some space. The city says the new outdoor dining policy prioritizes pedestrian safety and opens up some parking spaces.
Last year, the city created walkways in parking spots to allow restaurants to have expanded outdoor dining on sidewalks.
"Last year to make more space for outdoor dining we started putting tables on our own space on the outside, so if we hadn't done that we would only have 5 outdoor tables with the new policy, where as before we used to have at least 10," said Kaitlyn Hamer, a server at Claws.
The first block of Rehoboth Avenue requires a 10 foot minimum, the second block requires 8 foot minimum, and the rest of downtown requires 7 feet of space. Mayor Stan Mills says the dining area can be either 6 or 8 feet deep.
"Part of our philosophy was to return people and dining areas to public sidewalks get rid of those traffic barriers and pedestrian pathways in the street, and provide adequate width of pedestrian pathway on the public sidewalk," said Rehoboth Beach Mayor Stan Mills.
Nalu has three tables outside and four chairs per table.
"We are just excited and happy the town is allowing us to keep it. I know a lot of other places in town haven't been given that opportunity, so I think we consider us very lucky to be able to do it. Hoping to serve as many poke bowls and mai tais as we can in the future," said Chad Ackland, bar manager at Nalu.
As for outdoor dining on private property, restaurants will have unlimited space through the end of October.
The policy that went into effect Wednesday only impacts outdoor dining on public spaces. The Mayor and Commissioners will discuss outdoor dining on private property next Monday. There they will talk about the future of size limitations for patio dining.