Take Out Food Gets New Meaning

By: Carol Cole

Transcript Staff Writer

Several downtown restaurants want to invite their customers outside.

A new city policy will allow Norman restaurants to create outdoor dining spaces on their sidewalks, space permitting.

For restaurants to have tables, chairs and even umbrellas on their sidewalks, a 5-foot walkway must be maintained. That should be easy in the downtown area, where most sidewalks are 12 feet wide.

“I hope we get some doing it, “ said Norman Public Works Director Jimmy Berry. “Once they’ve shown us a site plan and they are able to get pedestrians up and down the street.”

Proprietors of Winans Coffees and Chocolates and Bison Witches Bar and Grill in the 200 block of West Main have inquired about permits so far, he said.

Winans owner Jeremy Howard was first to have tables outside and said having a sidewalk café’ becomes part of his restaurant’s signage and extends its appeal and floor space.

“People see chairs, bud vase, café’ tables and it pulls people inside, “he said. “It pulls their attention away from straight ahead…and if they are walking by and see that, they think ‘neat little spot,’ so that has brought in more business…It personalizes the store and brings it out in the open.”

His request came from customer input at the 3-onth –old restaurant that bas been growing it business each month.

“We would like for people to know that downtown is somewhere you can do something like that,” Howard said. “And we’d like potential business owners who want to come downtown to know that the policy is already ready and in place.”

His vision is that outdoor café’ areas dotting downtown sidewalks would help create a restaurant and shopping destination in Norman’s downtown.

“We are moving toward an outdoor mall feel,” Howard said. “We would like more retail, restaurants, more clothing sores - that’s the synergy I’m talking about. You park and you can actually go anywhere.”

Customers have already started using Winans tables, picking up their beverages inside and taking them outside.

“This also promotes that we have excellent summer drinks like smoothies and French sodas,” Howard said. “And I make a great cherry lemonade.”

Other restaurants may send servers outside to wait on customers.

The policy came about after Howard spoke to city councilmember Cindy Rosenthal at a Downtowners meeting. Rosenthal got the ball rolling with city staff.

The idea received enthusiastic support at a study session with Norman City Council last month.

Permits are $50 per year, said Berry, and available through the city’s traffic engineering department.

“We wanted to make it a little more friendly, a little more encouraging,” Berry said.