SIDEWALK DINING UP

YUBA CITY, Calif. — One Northern California city is getting creative when it comes to helping downtown businesses stay alive -- and vital -- during the pandemic, according to a report from KCRA 3 News.

The Sutter County town of Yuba City is promoting outdoor dining on city sidewalks. Several blocks of Plumas Street have been blocked off to vehicles so restaurants can expand outdoor dining onto the road. “Just being creative, flexible is how businesses are going to be able to survive,” said Sandee Drown, president of the Downtown Business Association.

Survival means converting an outdoor parking lot into al fresco dining at The Happy Viking, where customers are cooled by swirling fans and can eat underneath a big tent or umbrella.

It made the experience much more memorable for people like Stacey Dutra of Yuba City. “How festive is this?” she asked rhetorically. “It's summertime. It's like the state fair has come to your community."

Chris Mathews, another patron at The Happy Viking, said, “A lot of people in Yuba City, we tend to move away and we tend to go somewhere else while shopping and dining. But it’s quite the other way around now that the COVID has hit. This is the place to be." The traffic redesign of Yuba City’s downtown has a lot of supporters, including Yuba City Mayor Shon Harris. Harris said the outdoor dining plan is in effect until state restrictions are lifted.

“We are here. We are open for business,” Harris said. “We are doing whatever we can. We're listening to folks. We're flexible. We're nimble. We're open to new ideas. Again, this is unprecedented, so we're open to any options.”

But, not every merchant is onboard with the plan. Some are openly critical of the pinch it puts on parking.

John Glaiser, owner of Gaiser Pets on Plumas Street, said, “With the street closure though -- 80 parking spaces, yes, I counted -- are closed now. That's about half the parking spaces on the street are now unavailable for customers."

“We’ve had scores of complaints too,” Glaiser added. “When somebody has a 40-pound bag of dog food or more than one or they’re considering buying a large fish tank or terrarium or anything heavy -- walking away several blocks is not fun."

The closure of Plumas Street has been getting strong reactions both pro and con, but opponents are hoping to get the city council to reconsider -- especially for businesses that don’t serve food.