“We had to keep reinventing the business every week to two weeks.”
Caitlyn Morrissey, store manager. Source: The New York Times
New York small businesses have seen the full financial force of the pandemic, and restaurants have born the brunt of it. Roughly 7,000 NYC small businesses have shut down permanently since the start of the pandemic. The New York Times reported that a third of these small business closures are restaurants. So when I see a tattooed old man out with his DeWalt circular saw and 2x4s procured from the Flatiron Home Depot two blocks away, building outdoor seating as structurally sound as any residential building, my hat goes off to him. This post is a homage to those who have recreated the restaurant.
Reinvention: Not just by restaurant owners
We’ve heard various narratives about the “multiplier effect” of a job. Once one person is employed, they have money to spend that helps employ someone else. The same is true of restaurants setting up outdoor seating. From local contractors to florists to set designers looking for very off-Broadway work, skilled builders have redeployed expertise for the local restaurant. Design firms like Rockwell Group and Pink Sparrow have mocked up modular, prefabricated platforms, barriers, and parklets — which they may make available as DIY kits. And of course, most scrappy New York restaurateurs literally scrapped something together.
Best of NYC outdoor seating
In celebration of NYC creativity, we’ve identified a few outdoor dining “winners” who categorically stood out.
Most creative social distancing: Cafe du Soleil, French cafe, Upper West Side
Best outdoor indoor seating: Kyuramen, ramen house, Flushing
Best use of public infrastructure: Hudson Clearwater, American restaurant, West Village
Most European-inspired: Le Zie, Italian restaurant, Chelsea
Most authentic: Smithfield Hall, sports bar, Flatiron
Mo’ seating, mo’ permanent
It’s not just restaurants that are allowed to apply for street seating —it’s anyone with a ground-floor store front. And it’s not just a pandemic “perk” now to dine outside. Our mayor wants to embrace our new sidewalk cafe seating year-round. While our city is evolving out of necessity, some of it will be for the better. Especially for all the new puppy owners who can bring their four-legged family members out for lunch and dinner.
On a personal note, it’s great to see the Keynsian multiplier in full effect, increasing the velocity of money and driving trickle-out economics. As in we’re trickling out into the streets.
MBA in the City 