City council extends Patio Brampton Program until 2021

At a recent council meeting, Brampton City Council unanimously voted to extend the City’s Patio Brampton Program until September 7, 2021.

This extension will allow restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments to continue offering expanded outdoor dining space.

On October 9, the Region of Peel reverted back to a modified Stage 2, which resulted in the halt of indoor dining for a minimum of 28 days.

The extension of the Patio Brampton Program aims to support businesses during this timeframe and provide an additional opportunity for expanded seating areas throughout the winter.

“We are committed to doing all we can to support our restaurants and bars through these challenging times,” says Patrick Brown, mayor of Brampton.

“The extension of the Patio Brampton Program will provide our businesses with an opportunity to provide outdoor service for customers while indoor dining is closed.”

Brown also stated that it will provide an additional space when indoor dining is permitted again by the province.

City council also directed that letters be sent to the province to advocate for extended liquor license permissions beyond January 1, 2021.

This will provide restaurants flexibility to temporarily extend the physical size of their existing licensed patio or to temporarily add a new licensed patio to minimize the administrative burden for license.

These letters will also advocate for measures that will allow restaurants, bars and other food and drink establishments to partially enclose existing and extended patios to assist these establishments with operating during the winter months.

“While October is designated as Small Business Month, local establishments need our support year-round and so we must continue working with them to determine new and innovative ways to help them get through the challenges they face in these unprecedented times,” said Brampton Regional Councillor, Michael Palleschi.