Cheers! Restaurateurs welcome sunny — and hopefully busy — summer patio season

A harsh Newfoundland and Labrador winter means St. John's has earned a drink on a downtown patio, and business leaders say they're ready for this year's patio season.

Cheers! Restaurateurs welcome sunny — and hopefully busy — summer patio season This year's Downtown Pedestrian Mall is well underway and open until September A harsh Newfoundland and Labrador winter means St. John's has earned a drink on a downtown patio, and business leaders say they're ready for this summer's patio season. Downtown patios have become a St. John's tradition since the first pedestrian mall opened in July 2020.

This year, the mall area on Water Street will be open from noon to 10 p.m. until Sept. 7. Gabriel Laplaige, general manager of Bibi Bistro on Water Street, said it's something both businesses and customers have been waiting for. "It just helps the businesses downtown for it, especially after the horrendous winter we've had this year," Laplaige told CBC News last week.

"When people walk past, the first thing they see is your patio. So the first thing they're going to think about is, 'Maybe we should stop there. Maybe they got good food.'

And they come in, they enjoy their time." Tourists like Michael Williams, visiting Newfoundland and Labrador from South Carolina, said seeing the pedestrian mall and being able to partake in a meal on a patio was a cool experience. "It was pretty unique.

Pretty different. You won't get it anywhere else in the world but St. John's here. They don't even do it in Charleston, which is by the water, too," he said.

The City of St. John's has taken steps in recent years to make affording a patio easier for businesses. In 2025, it cut the parklet fees businesses pay to convert parking spots and sidewalks into patio space from $27.50 per square-foot-per-year to $2.50. And while adding a patio can create thousands of dollars in upfront costs, Laplaige said Bibi Bistro's patio will pay for itself in less than a month.

That's important for restaurants looking to get customers in the door — or on the patio — according to Restaurants Canada. Janick Cormier, the organization's vice president for Atlantic Canada, said the patio season can be a make-or-break moment for restaurants that can help carry them through slower times of year. "Outside of those eight tourism weeks, it's very difficult for restaurants to make ends meet.

Just like families, our bills have gone up, our price of food has also gone up," she said. "If we can increase the amount of foot traffic by increasing the amount of tables because of the patios, and you're creating that buzz and you're welcoming tourists from all over the world, these are the weeks where you're either making or breaking it." Cormier said she hopes governments can take further steps to support restaurants and patio owners through what she called a continued pandemic hangover.

But Laplaige said his view on patios goes beyond finances. Growing up in France, he sees the patio as an experience that can offer a different slice of life for locals and tourists. "[In France,] my dad used to always take me down.

We'd stop at different restaurants, we'd meet a couple of his friends," he said. "This aspect really reminds me of what life was like in France, and this is wonderful for it — to be able to give that back to the Newfoundlanders." Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador.

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