REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- There was over an hour of discussion Monday between Rehoboth Beach Commissioners and the public about outdoor dining.
A lot of cooking time on a model that has proven successful especially during the pandemic.
The current policy states that outdoor dining on public property can be done between April 1 and October 15. Commissioner Susan Gay says creating an all-year license would be great for the city.
"I think it could be," Gay said. "There’s certainly some wonderful days including today except for the wind where people would want to eat so I’d like to see it expanded as much as we can."
At Sunny Bay Cafe, its outdoor seating area sits about twenty people and there’s also two tables that can be put in front of the restaurant. But Co-Owner Ben Stoner says he would like to have outdoor dining all year long.
"People want to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather since it’s a destination spot," Stoner said. "You know people are coming to the area to be outside so any way they can find a way to get outside is a preference among a majority of customers."
Also in the policy is that split dining is not allowed meaning that servers cannot cross the pedestrian walkway to serve customers which some commissioners including Ed Chrzanowski thinks most restaurants will not be able to participate without that option.
"That eliminates a lot of businesses from doing this," Chrzanowski said. "I mean there’s many bump-outs and buffer areas where the only option some businesses would have is to go on the far side of the sidewalk."
With multiple topics still to discuss, the Mayor & Commissioners will meet on March 15 to talk more about possible changes. Votes on changes to the policy could take place then or be pushed to a meeting on March 18.
Ideas at this point, but changes that could be at the top of the menu real soon.