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Officials reconsider outdoor seating

By CRISTINA SILVA
Published April 18, 2007

Imagine a long afternoon dawdling over a salad accompanied by a beach breeze or the setting sun as a backdrop while grazing on the perfect steak dinner.

These are the experiences restaurateur Catherine Pawelek wants for her customers, but there is one slight hurdle.

In Gulfport, where wide expanses of water provide a respite to city living, the ability to eat a restaurant meal outdoors is limited.

City officials are considering creating an ordinance that would allow restaurant owners to put tables and chairs on the sidewalks in front of their storefronts.

The ordinance could go a long way toward reviving the city's growing downtown, where business owners have struggled to stay open despite growing taxes and insurances costs, supporters said.

They hope sidewalk seating can help draw more crowds to downtown Gulfport and make the area look more lively.

But some city officials have expressed concern that outdoor cafes could limit the use of public sidewalks.

The specifics of the proposal is being addressed by Gulfport's Community Development Department. Legislation could be presented for approval before the Gulfport City Council as early as June, city officials said.

Restaurateurs have been petitioning the city for the right to put tables on the sidewalks for at least three years.

At a recent city meeting, Helga Kane, owner of H. T. Kane's Bar and Restaurant, and Simone Frohne, whose family owns La Cote Basque, joined Pawelek in begging the City Council to not put off the idea any longer.

"I don't see any reason why we shouldn't have it," council member Michele King said in a recent telephone interview. "That type of flavor is what we are looking for here."

Pawelek, who opened Elements Global Cuisine on Beach Boulevard in January with her husband, Jose Luis, said she collected 100 signatures in two days from customers in support of outdoor dining earlier this month.

When she and her husband eat out, they always ask to be seated outside if that option is available, she said.

"There is nothing greater than being in Florida and making use of the beautiful weather," she said, explaining the appeal of dining en plein air.

City Council member Bob Worthington said he would support the plan so long as all restaurants can benefit from it, not only the ones downtown, and if pedestrians can still use the sidewalks.

"There are a lot of people that enjoy sitting outside," he said. "We just have to make it to where we don't impede the normal flow of pedestrian traffic."

Cristina Silva can be reached at 727 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.

[Last modified April 17, 2007, 19:52:39]