Outdoor Dining – Restaurant Recovery Program
Overview
In an effort to help Miami restaurants get up and running following the COVID-19 shutdown, the Miami DDA has been collaborating with the City of Miami to implement the Restaurant Recovery Program. The program allows restaurants to temporarily add or expand outdoor seating areas in Miami Parking Authority on street parking spaces, while safely meeting social distancing requirements. Over the last eighteen months, Miami DDA staff has been assisting restaurateurs with applications and outreach, has procured 119 required barricades (and branded vinyl wraps) for outdoor dining spaces, as well as providing bistro tables, chairs and outdoor umbrellas, all at no cost to our downtown businesses.
This program has been essential in helping our food and beverage establishments survive during a very difficult time during the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing some badly needed business in a safe manner. Moreover, the outdoor dining has truly transformed often deserted streets of downtown into a more vibrant and welcoming environment.
In a further effort to drive business to the neighborhood eateries, the Miami DDA also spearheaded the “Go Local, Go Direct” campaign, which offers discounts of ten percent or more on delivery orders placed directly from downtown restaurants. The agency is also a founding partner in the relief fund for bar and restaurant workers that was created by the South Beach Wine & Food Festival and Florida International University’s Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. And DDA’s Downtown Ambassadors are distributing free disposable facemasks to residents and visitors.
Master Plan Goals
This initiative is not specifically a part of the 2025 Downtown Miami Master Plan.
4.0 Create Great Streets and Community Spaces
3.5 Activate Biscayne Boulevard and Brickell Avenue with Ground Floor/Outdoor Dining and Retail
Status
On Nov 18, 2021, the City Commission passed a resolution (SR.2 Sidewalk Cafes) to make the Restaurant Recovery program permanent. Currently, in cooperation with the Miami Parking Authority, the City of Miami’s Department of Resilience and Public Works is implementing the program. Once the permanent program is released to the public, individual restaurants should have a clearer understanding of what it will cost to continue to utilize either sidewalk cafes and/or on-street parking spaces.
1-Year Outlook: As soon as Public Works releases the permanent program, the Miami DDA will meet with interested restaurants to determine if they want to continue utilizing on-street parking spaces for additional seating capacity. Several issues will need to be resolved, including the required permanent barricades and Miami Parking Authority (MPA) annual fees.
