If you’ve enjoyed dining al fresco in Hinsdale, you’ll be able to savor it a little while longer. Even though Illinois fully reopened on June 11, restaurants will still be able to use outdoor tents until the end of the year.
At a recent meeting, the Village Board approved an ordinance extending the approval of temporarily using Village right of way roads and other public and private spaces for outdoor dining and retail to December 31, 2021.
According to Village Manager Kathleen Gargano, the village is evaluating potential design plans for future outdoor dining seasons that would eliminate the need to use concrete barriers on some streets.
“For now, both features of outdoor dining, the concrete barriers and tents, will remain until December,” she said.
Nabuki — the Japanese spot serving traditional and modern dishes with a dash of Latin flavors — has outdoor tents set up in front of the restaurant on 18 East 1st Street for al fresco dining and welcomes reservations that specify outdoor seating.
Il Poggiolo, located on 8 East First Street, has tents set up on either side of the restaurant and also takes reservations for the outdoor section.
Some restaurants like Page’s Restaurant, 26 1/2 East Hinsdale Avenue, don’t have tents or concrete barriers, but do offer outside seating with picnic tables and umbrellas.
Baldinelli Pizza, 114 South Washington Street, has a hybrid approach — instead of the large white tents, they have picnic tables with umbrellas, but they do use concrete barriers to section off the patio.
The extension of space provided by the barriers will allow Baldinelli to serve customers outside through the summer, fall and winter months.
Gargano added that the extension to use tents and barriers for the long-term helps businesses and restaurants attract customers as more and more people resume pre-pandemic activities.
