Winter patios coming to downtown Barrie

With some milder winters in recent years Barrie city councillors are exploring if there's an appetite to dine outdoors in the coldest months of the year.

On Wednesday night city councillors approved a pilot program allowing for Flying Monkeys Craft Brewery, a restaurant downtown, to operate a patio throughout the winter months. Councillor Craig Nixon, who represents the downtown core, says it came to be as the result of a request by the business.

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"This came about as a request and which is mainly a result of our winters certainly aren't what they used to be," Nixon said during Wednesday's city council meeting. "We're looking at one establishment to put out a few tables, not certainly what we normally have in the summertime, and see how it goes, see how the public reacts to it and see what the demand is."

The patio will be smaller in scale than what customers are accustomed to during the Spring and Summer season, with a limit of being 8 feet from the building. Nixon said the original idea was to permit winter patios at all interested establishments along Dunlop Street, however some would not be able to facilitate due to parking logistics.

"It's obviously weather-related," Nixon said. "So if it turns out the winter season is warm with little snow then I'm sure they'll be used…I'm sure a lot of people will appreciate them and if the weather's terrible then it's really not an issue because people aren't going to be sitting out there anyways!"

The program passed with another stipulation to allow for two additional businesses to open a smaller patio as of March 15.

"They are really not interested until after St. Patrick's Day," Nixon said. "I think they are just going to wait and see how the pilot works out for the first few months."

The motion passed with little debate, with many councillors applauding the idea as they sought clarification on certain components of the project.

"I'm in all support of having winter patios because I've been to them and they are a lot of fun and they are really nice and very Canadian," Councillor Amy Courser said during the meeting.

The regular Spring and Summer patio season traditionally starts in the middle of April. Staff will report back to councillors next year with feedback to determine if the program will be fully implemented the following year.