Outdoor patios have become staples of today's successful Milwaukee restaurants and bars. Up until a few years ago, however, a street-side table Downtown was as rare as a July snowstorm.

It wasn't that outdoor dining was illegal, but it was hard enough to get the necessary permits that virtually no restaurateur could make it happen.

"It was effectively a ban, though it didn't say in the ordinance that outdoor dining was prohibited," says former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, who is now the president of the Congress For The New Urbanism in Chicago. "But the effect of the way the regulation was administered, it was."

Third District Ald. Mike D'Amato says the concept was so scarce that when he first took office in 1996, the only restaurant he knew of with patio dining was the old La Casita on Farwell Avenue.

D'Amato says that getting a permit for outdoor dining was far too challenging for most business owners.

"When you allow the Department of Public Works to dictate what happens without any vision, they will dictate to the letter of the law," he says. "Not until the policy makers stepped in did this change."

According to Norquist, the health department was a stumbling block in getting diners outdoors.

"They had concerns that food outside was somehow unsafe," says Norquist.

For Department of Public Works Permits & Communications Manager Cecilia Gilbert, it was more about a lack of precedent and procedure.

"We really didn't even have things on the books to allow for it," says Gilbert. "You had to get a special privilege. A lot of people saw that (outdoor dining) was popular, especially with a short summer season, when places started to build decks. Louise's Trattoria (on Jefferson Street near Cathedral Square Park) was one of the early ones to do permanent seating. It just kind of grew (from there)."

The topic even ruffled some feathers between business owners and the area's summer festivals.

"It was an issue that at some point became a little bit divisive, because people were saying the ethic festivals and Summerfest and State Fair were taking away business," says Beth Nicols, executive director of the Milwaukee Downtown, Business Improvement District 21.

But trips to Italy and Boston helped D'Amato and others in the City come to the conclusion that outdoor dining is both "vibrant and exciting."

Says D'Amato, "We went to Boston and were walking through Faneuil Hall. It was early December and people were sitting outside drinking coffee. They didn't allow the inclement weather to bother them."

And in Italy, sidewalk dining is everywhere.

"It's fairly simple," says D'Amato. "Both the mayor and I looked at this like a European model, where restaurants are as much a part of the public realm as they are the private realm."

"It's pretty crowded," adds Norquist. "But it's 'fun crowded.'"

Norquist describes the eventual change as logical process.

"We had some restaurateurs who were interested in having outside dining, and they were having some resistance. I just asked questions, talked to the Health Department and the Public Works director at the time, and we came up with a way to relax the barriers."

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by Z_boy on Oct. 4, 2007 at 11:14 a.m. (report)

Good article, nicely informative. I had no idea that outdoor dining options was such an issue at one time. For the past several summers, I see all the outdoor seating, filled with people, and would wonder why this took so many years to become a reality. It always seemed like such a simple concept. But thanks to this article, now I know. I love summer in Milwaukee, and seeing all the people sitting outside, sipping a beer or cocktail and enjoying dinner, gives the city so much life. It colors the landscape, so to speak. Nice job to Mr. Norquist!

Posted by milwbrew2 on Oct. 4, 2007 at 8:07 a.m. (report)

A great positive reminder! When we opened the Ale House in 1997, this became a big topic with our river patios. Mayor Norquist basically said, "Make it Happen". A committee was formed between then head of Health, Roger Johnson, the State Health, and Restaurant owners, including us and Wells Street Station. Obviously, it got done - Vision and leadership! BTW, La Casita was a great spot in a different era for drinkers and diners.

Posted by MILWIRISH on Oct. 4, 2007 at 2:42 a.m. (report)

outdoor dining is fine but why do we need to put it in the public right of way. many locations use the entire sidewaljk as thier beer garden.try to use a wheel chair on n. milwaukee street in front of cafe croquette, imposible!! and there are other locations just as bad. to much of a good thing.

Posted by melkiper on Oct. 3, 2007 at 2:58 p.m. (report)

So D'Amato and Norquist had to fly to Boston and Italy to figure out the importance of outdoor dining to a vibrant downtown life. Taxpayer money well spent on something so obvious guys. No wonder we are one of the highest tax paying states in the country. I am officially running for a Milwaukee office where I will travel to Spain to see if a Guggenheim museum would be good for Milwaukee, Mumbai to see if there might be something to this whole "Bollywood" scene (maybe we should show some independent Indian directors films at the International Milwaukee Film Festival), and London to see if charging people in cars tolls for entry into the central business district works.

Posted by Nuclear_Art on Oct. 3, 2007 at 11:29 a.m. (report)

I think eating outside is a great idea where there is room. Too often it is allowed on the public sidewalk where room is too narrow. Restaurants take advantage of this and fill up a sidewalk so that pedestrians have to walk in the street or try to squeeze by. If you are in a wheelchair or have a stroller then tough luck. Amato is a nitwit who seems to come up with all sorts of good ideas without thinking of consequences.