REHOBOTH BEACH, Del.- Rehoboth Beach commissioners and the mayor met Tuesday morning to discuss outdoor dining downtown. There's a plan on the table to bring back outdoor dining, but it will be scaled back.
This will be the first summer in over a year that restaurants will be at 100-percent capacity. The mayor and commissioners are expecting one of the busiest summers in years. Their hope is some restrictions to outdoor dining will make it easier for visitors to walk around.
"It is not beneficial, it is vital. It's not vital to my business. It's vital to everybody. My outdoor sitting is vital to my neighbor. My neighbor is getting better business because of my outdoor dining. That is true for everybody," said owner of Kaisy's Delights, Thierry Langer.
Last summer, the city allowed what's called "full width sidewalk dining". Barriers blocked off parking spots to make space for pedestrians to walk.
"That displaced pedestrians and they had to be directed onto the street and into parking spots," said Mayor Stan Mills of Rehoboth Beach.
The city is proposing a plan that will allow outdoor dining, while still opening up the sidewalks for pedestrians, and not limit parking. If passed, restaurants in downtown Rehoboth Beach will have to apply to have dining on the sidewalks. The city will approve restaurants that have enough space outside for tables and wait staff, while leaving enough room on the sidewalk for pedestrians.
Once approved, there will still be restrictions. Restaurants would not be able have music outside. Outdoor dining has to be closed at 11 and all diners have to be gone by 11:30.
"The patio restrictions, we have certain rules that don't allow live entertainment outdoors, and no directing speakers outdoors. You can't have a wet bar or food prep on the patio. Those rules we expect will carry over to outdoor dining on the public sidewalk as well," said Mayor Mills.
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, some business owners enjoyed more outdoor dining and pedestrians walking on the road.
"Rehoboth Beach has to be a place where people meander, and not where people just run. If they run, there is nothing interesting," said Langer.
While others, want to make more room on the sidewalks and road for the increase in visitors. The next public meeting is March 7.