City Council approves long-term seasonal patio program for local businesses

Released: March 28, 2024 at 10:05 a.m.
Registration in the City’s temporary patio registration program now open for 2024 summer applications

Winnipeg, MB – Council approved adopting temporary patio registration as a permanent program on Mach 21, 2024, allowing the City to continue offering seasonal patio registration to businesses without any administrative fees.

The City is now accepting registrations for summer operation in the temporary patio program that will allow eligible businesses to operate a temporary patio space from April 1, 2024 to October 31, 2024.

“We’re already known for our beautiful summers and we have an opportunity to be known as a patio city,” said Mayor Scott Gillingham. “The type of city that supports our local businesses and really embraces being outside in the summer. The temporary patio registration program has been a really important tool to support businesses coming out of the pandemic, so offering this program on a permanent basis offers predictability to those businesses moving forward.”

“This program has shown that we can find ways to cut red tape for businesses and maintain the right amount of oversight on something like operating a patio,” said Councillor Sherri Rollins, Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Property and Development. “I’m thrilled that we’re able to continue offering this program without charging fees for opening up a patio each year. Providing outdoor service can be such a great source of revenue for Winnipeg restaurants.”

The cost of offering the program free of charge is approximately $110,000 per year. The City began offering the temporary patio program in May 2020 as a way to allow eligible businesses to quickly and safely establish temporary patio spaces that complied with public health orders at the time. The City has continued to offer the program to local businesses, opening registration biannually for winter and summer operation. There were 41 local businesses that registered for the temporary patio program in 2023.

Businesses that wish to participate in the temporary patio program beginning on April 1, 2024, will need to submit a new registration form. Previous temporary patio registrations will not carry forward.

For more information about the program, including details on the registration process, see: winnipeg.ca/temporarypatio.

News

Was this information helpful?

How can we make this web page better?

Information collected will be used to improve our website. Do not use this form to submit a request for service or information because it will not be forwarded to departments for response. To submit a request for service or information, contact 311.

This form is not intended to collect personal information; however, any personal information you choose to include in your comments is collected by the City of Winnipeg under the authority of section 36(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act for the purpose of improving our website and will not be used or disclosed for any other purposes, except as authorized by law. Contact the Corporate Access and Privacy Officer by mail (City Clerk’s Department, Susan A. Thompson Building, 510 Main Street, Winnipeg MB, R3B 1B9) or by telephone (311) if you have any questions about the collection of this information.