Last Thursday night in St. Louis, when the evening temperature was in the mid-70s, restaurant patios were full, as expected.
Two nights later, when the evening temperature was holding steady at 50, restaurant patios were…also full.
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Along DeMun Avenue, guests were bundled up but in abundance on the sidewalk patios at Sasha’s and Louie. There was line of people waiting to get into Clementine’s for ice cream. Many restaurants were happily reporting that it was “business as usual.”
“More people are willing to sit outside, despite the change in weather, because they are still more comfortable outside than inside,” says Alan Richman of Sasha’s, where the sidewalk tables and upstairs deck are ablaze with with propane heaters. Sasha’s also doles out blankets that are new or sanitized after every use.
Next door at Louie, owner Matt McGuire was grateful for a full patio. (“I’m not sure if this was our last hurrah or not,” he said.) He hopes to have a heated sidewalk tent built by November.
At Café Napoli, co-owner Kye Pietoso reports that the patio was full on Saturday night, just like it had been when the weather was 20 degrees warmer.
Over the weekend, he and his crew were assembling a 16-by-16-foot heated igloo, which, when completed and approved, will accommodate six to 12 diners (in one group) for two seatings per night. “Even though they’re enclosed, there’s still ventilation inside,” he notes. “Plus, we allow a 15 minute gap in between seatings to fully clean and disinfect the space.”
Pietoso says he will “cozy it up as much as possible,” and, if successful, will order several smaller huts that accommodate four to six diners. He says the investment is sizable but mostly reusable; it’s several thousand dollars per hut, plus lights, heaters, carpeting, furniture, decorations, and ongoing utility costs. And then there’s the several days it takes to build the structure and shrink-wrap it in plastic.
“We’ll have some tables with firepits, a 20-foot Christmas tree, and hope to have four or five igloos out there,” he says. “We plan keep the patio active for as long as we possibly can.”
Restaurateur Ben Poremba has a similar idea for Olio, where rectangular greenhouse huts (that seat up to a four person party) dot the front parking lot. Similar to the process at Naopli, each hut is allowed ample time between seatings to provide a complete cleaning.
Poremba has drawn up a site plan (launching later this week) to use firepits, huts, and walkways to create the feel of a winter fair. “People feel safe—they’re outdoors,” he says. Poremba hopes to offer soup, hot drinks, maybe some walkaround sandwiches, plus marshmallows and chestnuts for roasting.
“I could see our little corner becoming a little winter village,” he says.
Across the street, at indo, chef-owner Nick Bognar, has created an inviting, 22-seat covered and walled area in the back the restaurant.
With the help of his jack-of-all-trades father, he created a cozy and warm, multi-room space where “nobody feels uncomfortable,” Bognar says. His father has overseen the “months-long project, which is still ongoing.” Today, an opaque roof and walls make the main space feel larger than it is. The chosen heaters are wall-mounted, not portable. Potted trees and plants lend a homey look to a space that’s hard to assess until you step inside. Two ancillary side pods seat six to eight. Another space, still open to the stars, is in the process of being enclosed.
“We arrived late to the patio party, but what we came up with should last into the cold months,” Bognar says. “We were doing fine with takeout and delivery, but a lot of the things we serve, like nigiri, don’t do well in that format. With this setup, I can get back to doing the food that better represents what we are and what we can be.”
