The Grand Rapids Downtown Development Authority is rethinking a COVID-era strategy that helped restaurants put seating on the streets during indoor dining restrictions, a move that’s drawn criticism from the businesses who’ve invested in creating outdoor spaces for patrons.
Citing underuse of the areas and strain on local retailers, Downtown Grand Rapids Inc., which administers the DDA, is ending a program that provided funding support for restaurants that have been using on-street parking spaces to expand their dining areas.
DGRI is phasing out the current iteration of the street seating program over the next month, requiring restaurants to remove their on-street tables and reapply for the city’s parklet program.
“If (restaurants) want to work with the city of Grand Rapids and get concrete barriers put in and replicate the situation that they have today, that’s fine,” said Mark Miller, managing director of planning and design at DGRI. “It’s just not going to be facilitated or funded by the DDA anymore, and we’re going to move out of the realm of that business support and try to move into some different pieces.”
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The decision to end the funding came as a result of declining use of the spaces, as well as some conflict that arose with adjacent retailers and residents.
“We have multiple businesses that are no longer supportive of these (parklets) and do want them removed and do feel like they are impacting their business,” Miller said.
Miller said that the city is asking restaurants, many of which have created structures to outline and ornament their seating areas, to remove their infrastructure, stating in an email to one bar owner that October survey results determined “these installations are no longer achieving downtown goals.”
However, some bar and restaurant owners say they’ve come to rely on these extra spaces for increased business and feel the decision to end the program came unexpectedly.
Bob Johnson, owner of Apartment Lounge at 33 Sheldon Ave. NE, said he was “blindsided” by a February email from the DGRI announcing the end of the program, which came after the company spent more than $25,000 to turn its parklet space into a year-round space.
“I’ve been working for almost a year to figure out the path forward and then they changed their mind at the last minute in February,” he said. “That’s not acceptable for any of us. It screws over every downtown business that depends on that extra revenue.“
In an interview with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business on April 3, Johnson stated that his structure remains in place while he attempts to work with the city on the issue.
Miller acknowledged to Crain’s Grand Rapids that there “probably hasn’t been a lot of communication” with businesses leading up to the decision to remove and no longer fund the parklet spaces. However, he noted that “we have always told people that this is something that is being evaluated.”
“Maybe the communication could have been better,” he said, adding that “in general, (the city) has had a very positive relationship with even the folks who are going through some of this stuff.”
Areas of conflict
The parklet issue is mainly concentrated along Monroe Center Street, a narrow one-way street lined with retailers and restaurants, many of whom used parking spaces for outdoor seating — in some cases even beyond the bounds of their storefronts.
“In order for you to have (a parklet) in front of another business, you need to have written support from that business,” he said.
Superior Watch Repair owner Chuni Raniga had been one of the more vocal supporters of removing the parklet spaces, Miller said. Sandwiched between Cinco De Mayo and Uccello’s Ristorante, Superior Watch Repair lacked street visibility as both restaurants’ seating extended in front of his business, Miller said.
“Not only doesn’t he have any parking out front, but he also doesn’t have a lot of exposure,” Miller said.
Raniga declined to speak with Crain’s Grand Rapids Business about the issue.
As well, DGRI heard from many downtown residents along Monroe Center who have expressed frustration about their inability to park on the street in front of their homes, Miller said.
“These are things that we haven’t really heard a lot of, because there was quite a bit of grace in the community about a lot of this stuff for a few years,” Miller said. “But I think that now we’re seeing (people say), ‘OK, COVID is over and you guys need to do something to get this cleaned up.’ There’s probably some frustration behind some of it.”
Alex Benda, owner of boutique gift shops Courage and Soar and Oh, Hello Co. Paper and Gifts, located adjacent to one another on Monroe Center, told Crain’s Grand Rapids Business he believes the on-street parklets were “the right answer” for restaurants during COVID. However, he thinks they are no longer being implemented in a way that fits the neighborhood.
Benda noted other concerns, such as restaurants storing seating in the parking spaces and not maintaining them, indicating that he would like to see more structure around the program.
“I really think the issue here is because the problems that this creates are not as impactful as the problems it’s solving,” he said.
Laine Van Dyken, general manager and managing partner at Uccello’s Ristorante Downtown, said in an email that the restaurant is currently working with the city regarding the future of its parklet space.
Van Dyken said that the announcement that the restaurant would be required to go back to sidewalk-only seating “raised some concerns,” noting that “sales from the patio last year made up nearly 70% of our total sales for the summer including the sales from The Atrium, our private event space.”
She added that Uccello’s also is working with neighboring businesses to formulate a plan to continue to operate outdoors on Monroe Center.
“We do know that at minimum, the space will be cut down in size, but have hopes of holding on to as much of our current footprint as possible,” Van Dykensaid. “With the support of our neighbors we hope to be able to give our team the summer sales volume that they have been looking forward to, but only time will tell what that will look like.”
Miller said DGRI sees the change to parklet funding and implementation as a way to look at the success of downtown from a wider lens, focusing on businesses as an ecosystem.
“We really have to begin to look at all of the businesses and (ask): How are we benefiting the larger community?’” Miller said. “‘Are we benefiting some of these other businesses, or are we really focused on six or seven of these installations that are, from the other businesses’ perspective, potentially undermining some of their activity.’”
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