Many restaurants still waiting for patios to be approved through CaféTO program

Many restaurant owners in Toronto are still waiting to set up their patios through the city's CaféTO program and are frustrated by the wait for permits.

Owners interviewed by CBC News on Friday say they attribute the delay to what they believe is a late start to the program plus more paperwork this year.

At this time last year, hundreds of owners already had their patios in place.

So far, the city has set up traffic safety equipment for some 135 patios out of about 400 applications received this year.

Pablo Mozo, owner of La Cubana restaurant, said he started the application process with the city in February to install a CaféTO patio on the street in front of his business. He is still waiting for a permit to be approved. Last year's patio cannot be reused, he added.

"It's really unfortunate because we've missed about a month of patio space," Mozo said. "The really big issue is just how much of the nice weather we've missed."

CaféTO allows restaurants and bars to expand their outdoor dining space through sidewalk cafés, curb lane cafés or patios on private property. It was introduced in 2020 as the pandemic led to restrictions on indoor dining.

Under the program, sidewalk cafés are outdoor eating areas on sidewalks where food or drinks are served to the public by a licensed restaurant or bar. Curb lane cafés are outdoor dining areas located on the street, in a parking lane directly adjacent to a curb. City crews install traffic safety equipment for patios in the right-of-way for curb lane cafés.

Mozo said applications for the permits were due in March and two months later, the city said the restaurant was approved to submit more paperwork. He said applying was much easier in the first year of the program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's just become so much red tape, it's kind of like the wild west meets bureaucracy, you know, all mixed together...It just didn't need to be this complicated."

The restaurant is losing a lot of money because of the delays, he added.

"We're talking, I don't know, thousands obviously, thousands of dollars every day, on these beautiful days. Once we get set up, I know it's just going to rain," he said.

According to the city, 35 to 40 per cent of the CaféTO patios will be up and running this weekend. At this time last year, the city had approved about 90 per cent of the patios. The city, which has changed the program to make it permanent, expects to have about 90 per cent of CaféTO patios to be up and running by June 15.

Remo Lobo, general manager of Pizzeria Libretto on Ossington Avenue, said he is in the same situation. Even if the city approves his application to open a patio, he said it will take another two weeks to set it up because of new regulations that require restaurants to have an accessible platform.

"No seats as yet. We're still kind of waiting for the go-ahead date where we can get equipment, get everything in place to start the construction and get staffed up. It's just a waiting game still," he said.

"To be honest, I think it makes the city feel more alive when you see people out on the street dining."

Lobo said he feels the city started the process too late this year.

"Why not start this program and the application process in January, where there's downtime?" he said.

City has to do 'due diligence,' official says

Barbara Gray, general manager of the city's Transportation Services Division, said city crews didn't begin installing safety infrastructure for CaféTO until May 15, two weeks later than last year, because council asked the division to do a complete spring clean.

She said the program is taking longer this year because restaurants now need a permit to take part and must meet all safety requirements.

"Remember, we are setting up cafés in the street. It's very, very important that we confirm safety. I understand that people are frustrated because the weather is lovely... but we are trying very hard to get café setups done as quickly as we can," she said.

"We have to go through and do our due diligence on those safety setups and our staff are working around the clock."

The city is doing about 50 setups a day, she said.

In a Feb. 22 news release, the city said it has introduced changes to the program, including the "phasing-in" of permit and application fees over a three-year period. This year, the city said fees will be reduced by 66 per cent, with the full amount not charged until 2025.

Operators will have until Aug. 1 to install temporary platforms in curb lane café permit areas to improve accessibility.