Bars and Restaurants
As the country works to recover from the devastation of COVID-19, the City of Cincinnati continues its work with neighborhood leadership, residents, and private business owners to help Cincinnatians return to a sense of normalcy in their day-to-day lives.
One way the City aims to accomplish that goal is the through two development of a pilot expedited permit processes that enables many restaurants and bars to temporarily expand their outdoor dining and service areas onto the public right-of-way (public sidewalk or street) or into privately owned parking facilities in order to comply with COVID-19 prevention best practices during the public health emergency.
The goal of the Reignite Cincy: Temporary Outdoor Dining programs is to empower participating restaurants/bars to reopen in a manner that is both fiscally reasonable for the business and socially responsible for its customers. Information gathered from this these pilot programs may be used to inform future development of a longer-term program to address best practices for COVID-19 prevention.
The City of Cincinnati will work promptly to assess and onboard all eligible businesses.
All restaurants will be required to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal guidelines
This program is for restaurants looking to expand dining capacity into the public right-of-way via the street (parking lanes and/or street closures).
Submit Application
With COVID-19 health restrictions lifted, this program is no longer available. For restaurants looking to expand dining capacity onto private property such as parking lots, patios, and open greenspace see the informational handout linked below.
This program facilitates repurposing street parking space(s) into neighborhood gathering spaces by extending the pedestrian realm and providing opportunities to expand business activities.
Resources for Creating Safe Outdoor Dining Experiences