MACON, Ga. — Outdoor sidewalk dining is a hit in Macon, but there could be some changes coming to some restaurants that offer it.
Mayor Lester Miller says only a couple of restaurants actually have the $150 permit this year, so county commissioners voted last week to place Macon-Bibb Code Enforcement in charge of ensuring restaurants are in compliance.
Zachary Ford, an assistant manager at Ocmulgee Brewpub on Second Street, says hungry patrons love their outdoor area. It works for staff, too.
"When you have your in-store completely filled out, and it's such a nice day, especially like today, it's really useful to have," Ford said.
In the last few months, they've worked on making sure sidewalk customers feel included, so they've brought some of the indoor flair outside.
"We don't want customers to feel like they're kind of forgotten about sitting outside. So we've brought some of our indoor furniture outside," he said.
On top of paying the fees, the county wants to make sure restaurants are following the proper guidelines when setting up their sidewalk spaces. According to the new ordinance effective Sept. 1, sidewalks must be 12 feet wide for a restaurant to put tables on one side of it, and 19 feet wide to line the restaurant building and the curb.
Scott Mitchell, who owns Sweet Eleanor's, says he knew outdoor seating was a must when his shop opened. He just put out his setup.
"I wanted it to feel like a European cafe, bistro-type setting," Mitchell said. "The application involved getting a rendering of what it was going to look like. Went up, paid the fee and now my application was sent to the Urban Development Authority."
He says it's important to make the process more clear, but he says the application wasn't all work.
"If I could design everyone's sidewalks, I would. It was so much fun!" he said.
Assistant County Attorney Frank Howard told commissioners March 19 that there is a legacy policy included in the new portion of the county code. That means restaurants that have sidewalk cafes already will get to keep their current setup.
If two neighboring restaurants have cafes set up on opposite sides of the street, the restaurant that applied second would need to move their setup to the other side.
The county will start enforcing the permits Jan. 1, 2025.