Chicago's Sidewalk Cafe and Outdoor Patio Seasons are Coming
Even though it's freezing outside, spring is coming soon. Time to start thinking about Sidewalk Cafes and Outdoor Patios for 2014.
A Sidewalk Cafe in the City of Chicago is legally different than an Outdoor Patio. Each comes with its own set of requirements and quirks.
A Sidewalk Cafe permit allows a tavern or restaurant to serve food and alcohol outside of the establishment and on the city sidewalk. In order to do that, the business owner must get a permit from the City to use the public way for his or her own use. Those permits must be applied for each year and the season runs from March 1 through December 1 (some people must like eating in the freezing cold).
An Outdoor Patio is different. An Outdoor Patio is a type of liquor license that allows the licensee to serve alcohol in a privately owned outdoor location. This type of license used to be called a Beer Garden license. Like other liquor licenses, an Outdoor Patio license is good for 2 years.
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by Daniel Rubinow, Principal Attorney
License Law Group