Diners in Evansville can take advantage of al fresco eating in a whole new way thanks to a new variance approved by the Vanderburgh County Commissioners in September 2017.
The variance allows restaurants to open their spaces to the outdoors through windows, garage doors, patios, and other open-air arrangements. Before, restaurants had outdoor patio seating but were required to keep the building itself completely closed off to the outside.
“When other cities and counties all have these kinds of restaurants with this type of seating, it didn’t allow for the kind of place making that locations such as Franklin Street, Haynie’s Corner, and Main Street really needed to help it thrive,” says Vanderburgh County Commissioner Ben Shoulders.
According to Christian Borowiecki, director of the environment division for the Vanderburgh County Health Department, three Evansville restaurants, KC’s Marina Pointe, Piston’s Bar and Grill, and The Rooftop, already are taking advantage of the new variance, with two more applications from Bud’s Rockin’ Country Bar and Grill and Amy’s On Franklin under way.
