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HOSPITALITY COALITION CALLS FOR LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL TO EXTEND OUTDOOR DINING PATIOS INDEFINITELY

Patios are currently due to expire in June 2021 to the detriment of Long Beach businesses

LONG BEACH, CA (April 28, 2021) — The Hospitality Coalition, a California nonprofit mutual benefit association dedicated to improving the business conditions of the hospitality industry in California, is calling on Long Beach city council members and Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia to extend the outdoor patios that were temporarily allowed during the COVID-19 pandemic indefinitely until a more permanent set of guidelines can be set by the City of Long Beach. According to the original ordinance, once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted or by June 30 2021, all expansions shall be removed and returned to normal operations.

A petition is circling among Long Beach small businesses and concerned citizens to extend the patios past the June 30 deadline. The Hospitality Coalition is asking that the Long Beach City Council and Mayor come together to find a solution to allow the small businesses that have invested time and money in the outdoor patios and in keeping their patrons and others safe be allowed to do so permanently, with guidelines and safety code dictated by the city of Long Beach.

Petition link here: https://hospitalitycoalition.com/?page_id=84

We have all come together during this pandemic and now we must focus on economic RECOVERY. Without the continuation of the Open Streets program — businesses who have used life savings, borrowed money, and are barely staying open — many will close. These closures have cascading negative consequences affecting employees, local food service vendors, and the local economy. Long Beach helped by creating a plan to allow outside business activity like eating and drinking on some public property.

The Open Streets program has been providing Long Beach nonprofits, businesses and restaurants with temporary parklets and sidewalk space to provide physically-distanced options for dining and enjoying beverages. It made outdoor dining possible where it once was not, and fast-tracked patio building permits, allowing our restaurants a chance at survival.

On April 27th 2021, Oregon Governor Kate Brown again shifted rules in 15 counties that closed indoor dining and gyms for a three week period. In California, Governor Newsom has said that “the light at the end of the tunnel has never been brighter”, but our current course does not mean we are guaranteed to open on Governor Newsom’s predicted June 15 date and not go backwards yet again. Many small businesses have poured money into outdoor patios and rely on them for increased capacity indoors and outdoors. Taking away the opportunity for these businesses to utilize the extra space puts more pressure on these businesses to allow as many people inside as possible and may exacerbate a potential new wave of cases in Long Beach.

“We are not yet ready to declare victory in Long Beach against COVID-19. We all really want to get back to normal life but the outdoor patios have helped and taking them away at a time like this would only hurt Long Beach small businesses.” – Michael Ungaro CEO San Pedro Fish Market

“The hospitality industry is struggling to survive and cutting off the valuable assets that Long Beach has given restaurants and other businesses around the city prematurely would cause economic havoc across the region. Despite the success of the vaccines, our guests have been conditioned to be unnecessarily fearful to return to indoor dining. For the majority of full-service restaurants, expanded outdoor dining is the only path to remain viable as a going concern.” John Sangmeister, Gladstone’s Long Beach

The Hospitality Coalition, a California nonprofit mutual benefit association dedicated to improving the business conditions of the hospitality industry in California. The Hospitality Coalition helps all members of the hospitality industry accomplish legislative and public affairs goals at all levels of government. For more information, please visit our website hospitalitycoalition.com.

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