City of Portland Extends Outdoor Dining Program Through October

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is extending its Healthy Businesses program, which allows restaurants and bars to set up seating areas in parking spaces and alleyways outside their businesses.

Eem's Outdoor Dining Pods.
By Matthew Singer

Portland's makeshift outdoor dining plazas will remain standing for at least another summer.

The Portland Bureau of Transportation is extending its Healthy Businesses program, which allows restaurants and bars to set up seating areas in parking spaces and alleyways outside their businesses. The new round of permits will be good through Oct. 31.

The agency first introduced the program last May to give the city's struggling food and drink industry a way to safely serve customers during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The program was expanded through winter, allowing businesses to construct roofed structures and install heaters to protect diners from rainy weather.

The winter permits expire March 31, but restaurants and bars can now reapply at PBOT's website without charge.

Related: How 2020 Changed Us: The Habits We Picked Up.

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Healthy Business Programoutdoor diningPortland Bureau of Transportation

Matthew Singer

Matthew Singer

A native Southern Californian, former Arts & Culture Editor Matthew Singer ruined Portland by coming here in 2008. He is an advocate for the canonization of the Fishbone and Oingo Boingo discographies, believes pro-wrestling is a serious art form and roots for the Lakers. Fortunately, he left Portland for Tucson, Arizona, in 2021.

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