With indoor dining temporarily banned for many local restaurants, restaurateurs continue to stretch the season for outdoor dining. As fall transitions into winter, temporary structures of all shapes, sizes, and colors are appearing on the local restaurant landscape.
At Sasha’s on DeMun, owner Alan Richman recently installed several two-to-four-person igloos along with a scatter of two-person clear-sided tents on its first- and second-floor patios. “Just another way to cope with the temporary ban on indoor dining and some diners’ reluctance to eat indoors,” he says. Richman also wrapped the deck in plexiglass to act as a windbreak, but admits that “heaters, blankets, and bubbles can only do so much once the weather gets really cold,” and wonders whether the extra labor to clean and service these measures “will lower the bank account or increase it.”
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At Olio, Ben Poremba is putting the finishing touches on his winter village, a series of mini-greenhouse structures designed for one-party dining. He arranged the two-to-four-person temporary structures to look like a scaled-down neighborhood, then sprinkled in firepits, string lights, and outdoor seating areas throughout. “They went over so well we added more,” Poremba says. “We have 12 now, all heated with mini propane heaters, and I’m ordering a few for Nixta,” to supplement the four existing outdoor tables there. “They create something visually that we didn’t have before,” he says.
Piggybacking on the success of the three “backyard” tents behind The Crossing in Clayton, owner Jim Fiala ordered four 10-by-10 footers for the patio at his sister restaurant, Acero, in Maplewood. They’re the perfect size for four to six-ish diners. “The customers love them,” he says, but is “surprised the weather has yet to be a deterrent. We had people in all three tents at The Crossing last night. It was cold outside, but it’s not half bad inside the tents.” General manager Adam Gnau adds that three more tents will be installed on the adjoining grass at Acero. “We have Schlafly [Bottleworks] to thank for that,” he says. “It’s their space.”
Last time we checked in at Café Napoli in Clayton, its lone igloo was busy every night, accommodating six to 10 “diners in the bubble with people in their bubble,” said co-owner Kye Pietoso. When additional smaller igloos were not available, he ordered four, four-to-eight-person tents. “Between the 20-foot decorated tree, the string lights, the firepits, and the tents, it’s as welcoming as we can make it, given the weather and the indoor seating constraints,” he says.
“This week, we’re preheating the tents to ward off the chill,” Pietoso says, “and we’re prepared to add another mini propane heater to each one if necessary.” To cover the increased costs, Napoli is requesting a $300 minimum per table on reserved seatings (no minimums on walk-ins), which is “easy to achieve for parties of four or more, but a bit more difficult for parties less than that,” admits Pietoso.
Another tent village sprung up in Rock Hill over the last two weeks, occupying part of the sprawling patio at Hacienda Mexican Restaurant. Twelve tents open onto a boulevard of sorts, the scene decorated with Christmas trees, lights, and garlands. “The minute we put up the first tent, people wanted to eat in it,” recalls co-owner Alex Rodriguez. “We hadn’t yet put in the heaters, or even the tables and chairs, so we knew we were onto something,” she says.
“We always decorate the restaurant for the holidays,” she added. “We got half-finished inside, then in-person dining got temporarily banned, so we moved the decorations outside.” Hacienda’s heated holiday tents are reservable for groups of two to 10. “We just want people to remember us and continue to support us,” says Rodriguez. “We just want to create a memorable experience for the holidays, the way we always do.”
Editor’s note: After press time, SLM learned that several of the tents, damaged by wind over the weekend, will be replaced this week with similar-sized cabins that are “private and with plenty of airflow,” according to Rodriguez.
