It’s the last call for many street series in Philadelphia.
This week, city officials will begin cracking down on parking lot restaurants and issuing subpoenas to businesses that haven’t applied for licenses that require a dizzying new menu of regulations.
At the height of the Streetery boom in 2020 and 2021, more than 800 restaurants had put up some sort of structure to keep business afloat during the worst of the pandemic. Many poured tens of thousands of dollars into ornate structures with ambient lighting and propane heating to keep guests cozy in all four seasons.
Only a small number will survive. By Monday’s enforcement deadline, just 50 restaurants had filed applications to have their streeterries legalized, officials told The Inquirer, but declined to reveal the names of the applicants. None have been approved yet and confusion lingers over the process – the result of lengthy negotiations to bring the unregulated streetery scene up to speed.
Deputy Highway Commissioner Rich Montanez said the city offered ample flexibility prior to enforcement. Restaurants are now being asked to apply for licenses or face fines for non-compliance.
“This is my final, final warning,” Montanez said. “When we go out there, anything that we see as a safety hazard — not well maintained, trip hazards, broken boards — we’re going to point it out.”
» READ MORE: Philly restaurants reluctantly dismantle their street shops ahead of city crackdown. No licenses have even been approved.
But even restaurants trying to comply with the new law remain in the dark about what’s allowed.
For example: if you have applied for a license, can you continue to operate your current structure without fines until your application is approved?
The answers varied.
Ben Fileccia of the Pennsylvania Restaurant and Lodging Association said he felt restaurants could avoid fines for now as long as they applied. Montanez reiterated this in a Monday interview with The Inquirer.
“[An unlicensed streetery] is an automatic ground for a subpoena,” Montanez said. “But we ask them if they plan to have it legalized, then get into the system and apply, and then we say, ‘Here’s the process.’ ”
But the Streets Department’s own website reports that “starting January 9, 2023, all unlicensed Streetery setups must also be removed.” No licenses had been issued as of Monday, officials said, as application approvals are ongoing.
Asked for clarification, Streets officials later confirmed that restaurants can indeed continue to operate their current Streeteries without fines as long as they have outstanding applications.
Too little, too late for Stina Pizzeria.
The South Philly Restaurant is one of 50 to apply for a license. But owner Bobby Sarisoglou said he had it demolished on Sunday because its existing structure did not comply with the new regulations Stay in good standing with the city.
Stina posted an elegy for her streetery on Instagram, prompting complaints from his Snyder Avenue regulars. The Inquirer notified owners of the exemption for license applicants on Monday.
“That’s heartbreaking to hear,” Sarisoglou said. “We were afraid that if we didn’t get it down, we would be fined.”
He had already spent $10,000 building the road, including running power lines under the sidewalk, and then spent another $5,000 to have it demolished and hauled away. Had he known, he said, he would have continued to operate his current road until his application was approved, and then immediately rebuilt it accordingly the new regulations.
Fileccia, from the Restaurant Association, said the communication could have been clearer.
“[The city] I want to get people to move this process forward, but they can’t put anything in black and white,” Fileccia said. “Restaurateurs need things in black and white.”
Many owners do not bother with the license application.
Some reluctantly broke off their street series last month, well before the enforcement deadline, and spoke out Frustration at city officials as they bid farewell to the outdoor dining spaces that helped them survive the pandemic and remained popular with guests.
Some see the new regulations as draconian. Between the architectural restrictions, the $1,750 annual license fee, and the outright ban on gas heaters and electric utility lines, some said the rules appeared designed to force all but the wealthiest and largest restaurant chains off the streets.
Road officials stressed that the application portal will be open year-round and restaurants can apply at any time to start the permitting process.