Taking It to The Street

Since COVID Shut Down Indoor Dining, Coral Gables Has Seen an Explosion of Al Fresco Options

On July 6, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez ordered all county restaurants closed, less than two months after they had reopened in May. The fear was that diners were spreading the coronavirus.

Local restaurant owners (and their myriad clients) were furious, and complained that it would put many establishments permanently out of business. The compromise was that restaurants could continue serving at outside seating, where the open air could disperse the virus.

When we first began keeping a list of restaurants with outdoor seating – right after the county order to shut down inside dining rooms – there were 38 Coral Gables restaurants with tables and chairs on sidewalks, in courtyards or in patios.

Since then that number has exploded to nearly 90. Thanks to an emergency ordinance passed by the city commission, restaurants that wanted to serve al fresco were given permits on an expedited basis – and for spaces in parking spots on the street or down adjacent alleyways.

By pure luck, some restaurants were already in good shape for eating outside. Places like Sawa and Brasserie Central in the vast courtyard of the Shops at Merrick Park already had more seating outdoors than in. Other eateries, like the Café at Books & Books and Bachour, had generous courtyards that could accommodate diners. Still others had the advantage of large, private parking lots, like Havana Harry’s, which now has some 20 tables under a massive tent and umbrellas. And, of course, there were the fortunate denizens of Giralda Plaza, who had suffered through the transformation of their street into a pedestrian plaza and are now sitting pretty.

In some cases, adjacent spaces made a big difference. Bugatti on Ponce, for example, has been able to use the courtyard of the adjacent historic Fink building. Caffe Abbracci has a tented area in the recessed space of an adjacent jet leasing center, which they use for dinner clientele. “You have to be creative with what you have,” says Nino Pernetti, owner of Caffe Abbracci. “I created a nice gazebo outside with candles and plants. Now people call and request to sit there.”

One of the biggest boons has been for restaurants with open walls – where glass doors can be slid aside. Here, the city allows for tables on the inside that are on the cusp of the outside. “The idea is that the pressure from the inside air conditioning pushes the air out,” says Mayor Raúl Valdés-Fauli, an advocate for reopening Gables restaurants. Restaurants that can add extra tables just inside these openings include places like Gringo’s Oyster Bar, The Globe, Hillstone and Bulla Gastrobar.

Even with these options, most restaurants still say they are operating at 25 to 30 percent capacity, for reasons that have more to do with the client base than available space. “Before, I had regular business customers,” says Alessandra Grappone, the manager of Salumeria 104 on Miracle Mile. “But without the people working in offices, I have many fewer clients. We are really just surviving from week to week.”

For a complete list of restaurants with outdoor dining, see our restaurant listing