Restaurateurs React to Increased Fees for Golden’s Outdoor Dining Program

When pandemic restrictions forced Colorado restaurants to operate at half capacity, the City of Golden – like other cities across the country – quickly responded by allowing restaurants and bars to expand seating areas to sidewalks, parking lanes on public streets, parking lots and lawns.

In 2021, with COVID still very much a factor, Golden formalized this into a Seasonal Outdoor Business Program that charged a small fee of $50 to restaurants while the Downtown Development Authority and grant money financed the construction of outdoor seating enclosures.

But now, as life has largely returned to normal, the Golden City Council has been rethinking the program ahead of the official start of the town’s summer outdoor dining season, set to begin the third week of April.

Restaurateurs began receiving emails from the Public Works Department last month with a warning that the fees would be going up, so a March 24 memo stating that the increase would be in the range of $2,000 to $3,000 wasn’t a big surprise. However, at a March 31 meeting with Public Works, some restaurateurs felt ambushed when it was announced that the increase would actually be $5,000 for the first 25 feet on frontage plus an extra $1,000 for every 10 additional feet.

“Frankly, this is a bait-and-switch. We have all invested in equipment and staffing long before being informed of the proposed fees less than a month before launch,” says Jon Bortles, managing partner of Woody’s Wood-Fired Pizza, which will celebrate its thirtieth anniversary this year. He estimates that Woody’s has spent $20,000 on outdoor furniture and decor, and hired additional servers and cooks to accommodate the 20 percent increase in capacity the outdoor dining provided.

“I’ve put additional equipment in my kitchen because for seven years, we’ve been the same restaurant, and last year was a little challenging, having 50 percent more people to feed,” explains Brandon Bortles, who is the cousin of Jon Bortles and owner of Abejas and Nosu Ramen; he estimates his total cost to add outdoor dining has been $15,000.

Katie Filoreto, general manager of Cafe 13, adds, “The cost hike is pretty absurd. Restaurants in general are just now starting to turn in profits from COVID, and $5,000 to $10,000 is no small fee.” The eatery often has lines out the door, she notes, and it relies on its outdoor space to increase its seating capacity from 80 to 120 guests. “It’s milking Golden merchants of any profit margins, and it’ll price out any smaller businesses that really need it. Truthfully, we all need it.”

The topic was first brought up to Golden’s City Council at a February 14 working session meeting where councilmembers voiced two significant concerns: recouping program costs and cannibalizing public space for private business.

Along with the cost already incurred for enclosure fencing, Golden also needs to ensure that the outdoor dining spaces are ADA-compliant by installing new ramps that “will connect the sidewalk/curb to the parking lane enclosures. … We anticipate the cost being $5,000 or less for the season,” explains a memorandum released by the city.

Councilor Bill Fisher pushed for even higher fees, taking into consideration the lost revenue from lost parking spaces. “Think of all these art festivals we have. All those artists are paying $300 to $500 for a 10-foot-by-10-foot space for a weekend for a chance to sell a couple thousand dollars,” he says. “And so we’re giving away a very, very expensive public parking space for peanuts, and for somebody who has the opportunity to make a heck of a lot more than a couple thousand dollars off of it.”

But for Jon Bortles, that argument makes little sense. “I’m all for covering the costs the city incurs in terms of set-up, permits, ADA etc., but this notion that we need to pay [additional]…is absurd. We pay 3 percent city sales tax – that’s far more valuable than two or three parking spaces for a few months,” he argues.

Fisher even went so far as to propose canceling the outdoor dining program completely for the summer of 2023. However, perhaps swayed by the 2023 Seasonal Outdoor Business Program and Miners Alley Pilot survey, where the majority of participants supported various outdoor-dining initiatives, the council ultimately decided to go ahead with the program, albeit with a higher fee cost. But how high is still up for debate.

“Council has yet to make any decision on a new fee structure, but this will be discussed on April 11 during a regular business meeting at city council. Council will be looking at what fees would be needed to cover costs, such as the set-up and take-down of the seating areas each season, new ramps to provide ADA access, and an appropriate application fee that covers staff review and required safety inspections,” says Rick Muriby, community development director for the City of Golden.

Since the news was communicated, restaurateurs have been crunching the numbers, and the outlook isn’t good. “[The council] thinks we are all doing good because sales tax is up, [but so is] food and labor cost,” Jon Bortles explains. “So between the [increased fee] you will charge for my permit plus the $8,000 in tables that I ordered…we will have to do an extra $266,666.67 in sales this summer just to break even…and let’s not forget that the city will still take 3 percent [sales tax] off the top of that.”

The situation is especially grim for Nosu Ramen, which opened too late to qualify for PPP loans. “The ramen shop needs it, but I can’t justify $10,000,” Brandon Bortles admits.

“Golden’s outdoor-dining program was a welcome lifeline for restaurants as they struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains incredibly popular with businesses, visitors and residents, as well,” notes Colin Larson, director of government affairs for the Colorado Restaurant Association. “[We hope] that any such changes would avoid creating unnecessary burdens for restaurants and Golden residents using this popular program.”