How Indianapolis restaurants are getting creative with new outdoor seating rules

Brunch, mimosas and drinks with (a few) friends on the patio and all-things-outdoor-dining in Indianapolis could be on the horizon — social distancing-style, of course.

Restaurants in Marion County can begin to reopen in the coming weeks, but only outdoor dining will be allowed.

And some restaurant owners are already thinking of creative ways they could serve customers.

Michael Cranfill, who co-owns Cholita in Broad Ripple and the District Tap, is thinking of using parking lots to have tailgate parties or building outdoor grills to serve street tacos.

"When we reopen Cholita in Broad Ripple we're already planning to do Friday to Sunday tailgates, where we can bring food out to your car," Cranfill told IndyStar Wednesday. "We have a parking lot in the back, and we want to be able to bring food, buckets of beer, pitchers of margaritas, and create a tailgate atmosphere."

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett announced Wednesday restaurants in Indianapolis can begin to reopen on Friday, May 22 for outdoor seating. He said customers will need to follow strict social distancing guidelines, and employees will need to wear personal protective equipment.

"We have outdoor seating at our restaurants, but half of those seats have to be eliminated and at the end of the day, restaurants are not profitable at 50% capacity," Cranfill said. "Obviously this wasn't what we wanted to hear, but we have to keep moving and get creative with the space that we have."

Under Gov. Eric Holcomb's detailed, five-stage plan to gradually reopen Indiana, Marion County could have begun removing restrictions on May 11 as part of Stage 2, but the county's stay-at-home order ran through May 15.

According to the state plan, restaurants can open with 50% capacity during the second week of Stage 2. But the mayor's local rules for Marion County and Indianapolis supersede the state's.

What if a restaurant doesn't have a patio?

But not all restaurants have a patio or enough space to create an outdoor dining area.

Some restaurant owners are disappointed and won't be able to reopen yet. Others say it's too early to tell how they'll handle reopening.

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Chad Coulter owns LouVino in Fishers and opened a location in Mass Ave. about a year ago. The Mass Ave. location has been closed for the past 12 weeks, and it does not have outdoor seating available.

After Coulter heard the news of the extended restrictions on Wednesday, he was disappointed, saying the decision will continue to hurt his staff and business.

"We had already planned to open on the 21st, but our dreams were once again crushed by the extensions of these guidelines," Coulter said. "Up until the closing, we were doing great, so it's really heartbreaking to keep being told that we have to extend restrictions.

"This will have a dramatic impact on a lot of peoples' lives," he said.

Others were not expecting to reopen their dining rooms just yet.

Jessie Harden, owner of The Garden Table in Broad Ripple and Mass Ave., said if guests want to sit outside at her restaurants they're welcome, and arrangements will be made to follow social-distancing guidelines.

She'd rather ease into the process of reopening her restaurant slowly, rather than all at once, she said.

"We're going to provide as much as we can with what we're allowed," Harden said. "We’re going to listen to science and to the mayor when deciding what to do. I know that a lot of our customers are going to be timid about coming back out, so it doesn’t do us any good to open up early if the general public is scared to be out in public like they used to be."

The Garden Table has online ordering available and is doing carryout Wednesday through Sunday.

How some breweries will adapt

Sun King Brewery co-owner Clay Robinson said the company’s Broad Ripple location will reopen May 22.

The Broad Ripple site opened last October with on-site seafood restaurant Offshore. Robinson said 35 customers can be seated outside with social distancing.

“We want to be open to make sure we’re there for people who want to get out and enjoy themselves and try to feel a little bit of normalcy again,” he said. “But we’re also still operating with full online pre-ordering and curbside-to-your-trunk delivery.”

Sun King reopened its Carmel and Fishers locations with indoor and outdoor dining Monday, adhering to state reopening guidelines that differ from Marion County’s.

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Among precautions at those tap rooms: Staff members at the door who guide guests to tables and make sure capacity numbers are met.

“Cleanliness is something we’ve always taken seriously,” Robinson said. “In order to brew great beer, you have to be real clean."

Sun King’s flagship tap room at the company’s Downtown brewery will reopen at a yet-to-be-determined date. A new menu concept focused on tacos and nachos is being readied by Fountain Square restaurant La Margarita, Robinson said.

Broad Ripple Brewpub general manager Billy Hannan said it’s too early to say whether his business will open on May 22, but he said the guidelines are appealing.

“We’re discussing it, but we’re not sure,” Hannan said. “We certainly like the idea of outdoor seating quite a bit more than inside at 50%, where we’d have to put half our furniture in storage and keep telling people they can’t stand at the bar.”

Outdoor dining is a signature feature at Broad Ripple Brewpub, the company that launched the modern craft beer industry in Indiana in 1990. The brewpub plans to celebrate its 30th anniversary on Nov. 14.

Seating for 70 customers presently is available outside the brewpub. Although that number would be reduced under Hogsett’s social-distancing requirements, Hannan said he hopes an allowance would be made for additional tables and chairs in the parking lot. 

Looking at expanding outdoor seating

Hogsett said the city will help restaurants receive temporary permission to expand outdoor seating capacity "when legal and advisable."

And this possibility is giving hope to those restaurant owners with limited to no outdoor seating. 

Cranfill, the co-owner of Cholita, is one of more 700 members of the Indy Tourism Recovery Task Force, which aims to bring together restauranteurs, local leaders and others in the tourism and hospitality industry to share ideas on how to help businesses and the Indianapolis economy recover from the pandemic.

He said on Wednesday that members talked about potentially using cultural trails or thoroughfares such as Georgia Street in Downtown Indianapolis as outdoor dining spaces.

“We could put blockades and if we can get through the proper permitting process, it can be an attractive dining environment,” Cranfill said. “I think there’s a way we could do that safely and respecting social-distancing guidelines. It could help many restaurants that are located near thoroughfares like that.”

IndyStar reporter Ethan May contributed to this story.

Contact IndyStar reporter David Lindquist at dave.lindquist@indystar.com or 317-444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.

IndyStar reporter Natalia Contreras can be reached at 317-444-6187 or natalia.contreras@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter, @NataliaECG.