‘We’re going to be able to survive.’ Outdoor dining project gives Tower District hope

The Lincoln Pub was open for less than a year when the pandemic hit.

In the past six months, the Tower District eatery has been forced to reinvent itself at least four times. It’s looking to do it again, with the help of the city’s outdoor dining parklet project.

The city awarded $3,500 to the Lincoln to build a 30-foot parklet on East Olive Avenue.

The restaurant currently has a small patio that allows for outdoor dining. The parklet will expand that seating capacity from 12 chairs to about 40, said owner Aaron Gossett.

“That’s actually viable for us,” he said. “We won’t be killing it, but we’re going to be able to survive.”

The city council has allocated $600,000 in CARES Act money to help restaurants create the outdoor dining spaces in response to COVID-19 guidelines. The Lincoln is one of three Tower District restaurants that’s been awarded a grant so far.

A temporary parklet — white and orange traffic barriers and canopy tents — opened outside of Irene’s Cafe on Friday. Similar structures will be set up at Lincoln Pub and Revue Coffee Bar next week.

Permanent raised, sidewalk-level structures, with planter boxes and shade umbrellas, will be installed over the next thee weeks. They will be similar to the parklet that went in at Bitwise Stadium in downtown last year.

Five other business in the district have applied to expand their patio facilities, including Cuca’s Restaurant near Van Ness, though the money is available for restaurants across the city. Several restaurants on East Kings Canyon Road have shown interest in the program.

These restaurants don’t have access to large parking lots that make outdoor dining more viable, like some of the corporate places in north Fresno, council president Miguel Arias said during a news conference outside Irene’s on Friday.

Beyond coronavirus

These are small, mom and pop businesses, existing along a walkable neighborhood corridor. The parklets are designed to embrace that culture and will remain as part of the community even after the coronavirus pandemic, Arias said.

In keeping with the neighborhood vibe, the material and construction was sourced from business within the Tower District and each of the dining parklets will feature a 30-foot mural painted by local artists, in coordination with the Fresno Art Council. Submissions for the first three murals ended Friday.

Arias said he envisions a series of parklets running along both sides of Olive near the Tower Theatre. They could be used for annual events like the Taste of the Tower, when those events return.

Tower Disrict parking, traffic impact

The Tower District stretch of Olive Avenue runs two lanes with a median, and while the parklets won’t directly impede traffic, Arias acknowledged it will slow the flow of cars some. But that will only add to the safety and walkability of the neighborhood, he said.

Parking spaces directly in front of the businesses will be affected, but that’s also a trade-off worth making to save businesses, said Tyler Mackey, executive director of the Tower District Marketing Committee.

“You can park here all day long. You will just have no place to go,” Mackey said.

Right now, spaces along Olive are typically full for most of the day, yes, but there is no shortage of parking. The lots around the area mostly sit empty, Mackey said.

Fresno aiming to help businesses

Mackey praised the parklets as the type of creative thinking the city is employing to bring the community together and help businesses get through the pandemic

Not that it was an easy sell.

The Tower District has been let down by the city in the past, Mackey said, and businesses were reluctant to trust the city to help. He went door to door trying to find businesses willing to apply for the grants. Only one, Irene’s Cafe, signed on. It took three months to get a second business to apply, he said.

For his part, Gossett said he attended the rally on Thursday put on by the owner of Yosemite Falls Cafe to express his frustration over the state’s coronavirus policies. As a fellow restaurant owner, Gossett said he also feels that frustration. He is glad the city is trying to find workable solutions and “steering into the curve.”

“It’s good to see the city is actually trying to help us,” Gossett said.