Philadelphia, PA
- As a result of sidewalk cafés plus well-managed parks to in-season pop-up gardens and reclaimed office plazas, and outdoor seating. Center City keeps growing, and currently, there are more than 428 new spots with over 6,743 new seats added from Vine Street to South Street, according to a new report produced by the Center City District/Central Philadelphia Development Corporation.
Open-air seating has recently increased by 391% ever since the Center City District (CCD) launched its yearly surveys in 2001. Eateries, java shops, fruit juice bars, shopping establishments, and previously empty office plazas have all attributed to the improvement in outdoor seating areas from absolutely zero venues in 1995 to 428 in 2018.
Full-service restaurants and other places to eat are offering the vast majority of outdoor seating throughout Center City. Nearly one-half (47%) of all open-air seating sites tend to be within full-service restaurants, and more than three-quarters are generally cafés and food and beverage merchants.
Seating on sidewalks fuzzes the line between what is indoor and outside setting, encouraging customers to go inside, and helping to improve the number of consumers an establishment can service. The new open spaces are creating a lively Center City atmosphere as well as providing unique destinations for visitors to gather, as an alternative than just walking on bye.
