Red tape, delays, high cost 

By Alyson Queen – 

Twice in the same conversation, Jeff Frost has to pause and holler over to drivers attempting to park by his restaurant, The Wellington Diner.

“That spot’s reserved for people with a special permit, you don’t want to get a ticket!”

He knows his customers and he takes pride in his restaurant. He recently hired a new chef and is changing up the menu to be more local.

“We’re built for families. We’re not a bar, we’re not a pub.”

With a palatable price point and a solid reputation in the neighbourhood, he wants to build a patio to capitalize on the summer season.

“I want this next step to give a New York feel for a 50s diner. You could be eating underneath two trees, and it could be a really special thing.”

He’s got the makings of a small urban oasis already, with brick retaining walls forming an outdoor terrace beside the restaurant.

Here comes the problem. He can’t use it.

He can’t get his plans approved by the City.

Jeff Frost of the Wellington Diner, pictured on a patio that isn’t a patio. Photo by Alyson Queen
Jeff Frost of the Wellington Diner, pictured on a patio that isn’t a patio. Photo by Alyson Queen

More than that, he’s spent hundreds of dollars and hours, just to be continuously rejected and delayed at every stage of every application. That includes a revised plan to have large custom windows installed because they would encroach on the sidewalk.

“It’s disappointing to see the hurdles that small businesses go through with the City. When a business is looking to make it a bit easier to operate, and make it a more beautiful space for the neighbourhood – to get shot down is disappointing,” says Zachary Dayler, Executive Director of the Wellington West BIA.

It’s frustrating to have plans rejected, but that isn’t Jeff’s biggest issue.

He waited weeks for feedback and feels he lost both time and money.

“Somebody should be held accountable. To drag someone through these hoops and negotiations at a small business owner’s expense only to say the whole plan is denied? If this was the private sector, someone would be fired.”

So he took to Twitter and people started paying attention, including Councillor Jeff Leiper.

According to Zachary, the challenges and delays with having a patio approved aren’t unique to the Wellington Diner.

“Across the board, businesses are subject to a lot of hurdles in getting patios. Ottawa also has one of the highest fees,” he adds.

Interestingly, the City recently completed a “Sidewalk Patio Review Program.” This year they are creating a new Right of Way Patio By-law to improve service to the restaurant industry and the public. The report is due out this summer.

Councillor Leiper says he is aware of the issues and says he has worked to try and find a solution.

One of those options is a re-zoning proposal. That will mean more expense, starting at $8,500 for the application, not to mention a sound engineering report.

Even if he pursues that, it’s hard to say if he will get his patio for summer 2017.

Despite it all though, while enjoying the morning bustle from the picnic table in his “not a patio,” Jeff is keeping his chin up.

“The reason I want a patio in the first place is to serve my customers and Kitchissippi.”

“I’ll build whatever the City allows me build.”

 

2 thoughts

  1. I’m sorry to hear that area businesses are having such a hard time. The two patios mentioned above comment would add to the neighbourhood and be wonderful to visit in the warmer months and the space is already there. It’s a shame it can’t be used to its full potential. You can never have too many patios! I’m sorry to hear about the amount of money spent by SuzyQ to no avail. It is very disappointing.

  2. I’m really disappointed to hear about the difficulties Jeff has been having trying to open up a patio. Summer is so short in Ottawa, and it seems like we make it very difficult for small businesses to takw advantage of outdoor space they already have. The bagel shop has a beautiful patio tbat they can’t serve you on. They once had tables but since have removed them, presumably because of the associated cost and difficulty to create a legal patio space.

    Unrelated, but stop in for a chat with the owner of Suzy Q donuts and he’ll tell you all about the $150k he spent getting architects drawings for a building he was subsequently prevented from moving into.

    We need to protect our amazing local businesses and help them flourish.

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