SANTA CLARITA,  Calif. — Three years ago, Cherie McGraham opened her restaurant, Smokehouse on Main, in Santa Clarita.

She wanted to bring Southern cooking to Southern California.


What You Need To Know

  • Last year, the city of Santa Clarita issued permits to business allowing them to extended dining onto streets  
  • Last week, after a two-month transition period, extended outdoor dining came to an end 
  • Restaurants are currently allowed to be at full capacity inside in Santa Clarita 
  • City officials say the end of extended outdoor dining helps free up more parking spots along Main Street and bring back normalcy

“I went to New Orleans, and when I was there, I had never had food like it,” McGraham said while expressing her enthusiasm for the city’s distinctive cuisine, including braised ribs and southern roasted chicken.

McGraham's goal with Smokehouse is to serve delicious food in a relaxed atmosphere.

"I wanted to make people feel at home, make them feel comfortable," she said. "When people come here and they say the food reminds them of home, it feels so good."

McGraham couldn’t have anticipated the challenges she would face in her first few years as a restaurant owner. The pandemic has had a severe impact on her business, as it has for so many restaurant owners.

Therefore, McGraham was thrilled when she was able to expand outdoor dining onto Main Street last summer to accommodate more customers. She already had a patio with several tables, but the extended seating area allowed her to serve more people. She put up tents that took over two parking spots in front of Smokehouse.

There was another blow, however, when the city of Santa Clarita last week ordered all restaurants to take down any extended outdoor dining set-ups. 

"My business dropped off immensely this weekend when people chose to go somewhere else," McGraham said. "It’s going to hurt us. I knew it would."

McGraham's restaurant still has some seats in the permanent outdoor patio, but now there is less flexibility outside. She says customers now are conditioned to eating outdoors, even though indoor seating has returned to full capacity. 

“People want that choice, and now that [COVID-19] numbers are climbing again, people are concerned,” she said. 

McGraham added that she doesn’t understand why temporary extended dining has been taken away when delta variant cases continue to rise.

"With kids, or elderly people, they want that choice and they are concerned, or they just want to be able to sit outside," she said. "That’s the concern with numbers climbing, that now I’m going to have the expense of putting the entire set-up back up."

So far, McGraham says she has spent close to $14,000 on tents, heaters and fans — all of which had to be removed. She has been an outspoken opponent of the city’s decision to end temporary outdoor dining, but down the street at The Old Town Junction restaurant, supervisor John Perkins had a different perspective.

"Business-wise, we were nervous it would decrease the volume of customers we see on daily basis, but everything has turned out all right so far," Perkins said. "We don’t have any feelings bad or good towards the tent closure."

Perkins' restaurant has a robust outdoor seating area, and he noted that the addition of tables indoors has offset any losses outside. 

Jason Crawford, the planning, marketing and economic development manager for the city of Santa Clarita, explained that the extended outdoor dining permits didn’t have a time limit — but that changed when indoor dining returned to full capacity. 

“As soon as that changed on June 15, we talked to our local businesses, the Old Town Newhall Association, and came up with a two-month transition plan,” he said.

Crawford noted that the loss of parking spaces taken up by tents and tables was impacting Main Street.

"I think a lot of our community really wants to return to normal," he said. "And with the demand we always hear from business here on Main Street, that they want more available, convenient parking, these parking spaces were important."

Crawford added that the city supports restaurant owners in Santa Clarita, which is why they issued extended seating permits last year.

However, McGraham said she’s frustrated and doesn’t understand why extended outdoor dining has ended in Santa Clarita when it’s still in place in Los Angeles County. The LA Alfresco program is set to run at least through the end of the year. McGraham is also concerned that if she can’t serve enough customers, she may lose staff.

"That’s my biggest fear, losing people while all this happens and losing business and having to get it all back again," she said. "It’s been a roller coaster. I’m tired."