Patio rules leave local restaurants half-empty

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On warm days when downtown East Lansing is bustling, the patio at Dublin Square Irish Pub is often at capacity.

But because of a city ordinance many local restaurants want to see rescinded, the inside of the restaurant is half-empty.

“When we have someone who wants a seat, and we have a full patio, they see half the restaurant is empty, but we have to tell them we have no seats left,” said Paul Vlahakis, owner of Dublin Square, 327 Abbot Road. “That’s bad customer service.”

The city of East Lansing requires all businesses to reserve the same number of open spaces inside a location as the number on a patio.

Vlahakis said he would like to see the outside capacity not count toward the inside capacity, a change that only can be made through a long process involving the City Council and the East Lansing Planning Commission, City Attorney Dennis McGinty said.

City officials said the rule is in place to protect customers on a rainy day.

“If it starts raining, people are going to go inside, then the business is over occupancy,” said Tim Schmitt, an East Lansing community development analyst. “Because we have such large patios in East Lansing, it has an actual impact on the people inside if everybody comes in.”

Trisha Riley, owner of Harper’s Restaurant & Brewpub, 131 Albert Ave., said she can understand the reason for the rule.

“If it’s a football Saturday, and it starts raining, we wouldn’t be able to bring everybody out immediately,” Riley said. “And to kick someone out because of that is bad customer service.”

Vlahakis said it becomes an issue when trying to bring business to East Lansing.

Okemos, Haslett and Lansing also have occupancy rules, but they enforce them differently.

“We would have no way to police that,” said Troy Langer, senior planner of Meridian Township, which requires its businesses to provide extra parking for customers on a patio, Langer said.

East Lansing Mayor Vic Loomis said it would take a change in philosophy by the City Council for the rule to be altered. Part of the reason for the rule comes from a concern that the concentration of people is too high in some establishments, he said.

“There’s always a question of safety when considering how many people you want in a certain area,” Loomis said.

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