Outdoor Dining Saved My Business. Now We Must Save Open Restaurants.

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New York's outdoor dining program is under fire. But King owner Annie Shi writes that it's proven itself to be a transformative force for good and needs to remain a permanent part of the city

Annie Shi and her business partners opened King on a busy Soho corner in 2016. Photo: Colin Clark Annie Shi is a co-owner of King restaurant and sits on the steering committee of ROAR , a nonprofit made up of hospitality leaders advocating for New York City’s independent restaurant industry.

But by September, we were floundering. We still owed rent from March and were in a tense negotiation with our landlord, who refused to grant us any kind of concession. Our debt was in the low six figures. I met with my partners in the park by Spring Street. Even if we were able to return to 2019 sales by, say, the fall of 2021, we would never be able to achieve the kind of sales or profit that would allow us to pay off all the money we owed.

King’s dining cabin along King Street. Shi estimates her restaurant can welcome in 30 additional guests each night and hire 13 more staffers because of the extra seating.Photographs by Colin Clark We’ve invested nearly $50,000 in our outdoor cabins, a decision we made after we knew we wouldn’t have to tear them down a few months later. Now, neighbors stop by to tell us that the added light and activity makes them feel safer walking home at night.

To be sure, Open Restaurants is not perfect. But the need for improvement to a nascent program is no reason to shelve a promising plan that offers tangible and transformative benefits to the larger New York City community.

 

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