CINCINNATI, Ohio — Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley recently announced that some streets in the city’s Over-The-Rhine and The Banks neighborhoods will be closing to create more room for outdoor dining for over a dozen restaurants.
Right now, restaurant owners are preparing to reopen and potential customers are trying to decide when they'll feel safe going back.
- Over two dozen streets in OTR and The Banks will be fully or partially closed
- Outdoor dining will begin Friday
- An application and other information will be rolled out by Thursday
What You Need To Know
“Honestly I was a bit surprised that they opened it so early. I was expecting it to be more like June, mid- June,” said Michelle Hausman, a Cincinnati resident.
But despite the initial shock, Hausman says this plan could actually work.
“There’s like plenty of space in OTR and in Downtown and on the sidewalk and streets and I think being outside is pretty safe and everyone’s going to take procedures really carefully,” said Hausman.
As of Friday, there will be more than two dozen streets at the banks and in OTR that will be closed.
We reached out to several restaurants that would be affected by this project, but none were able to go on camera. Many we spoke with say they are still in the planning process, trying to figure out how to transition to outdoor dining while staying safe.
We also spoke with the assistant to the city manager who says the mayor’s plan for outdoor dining is also still being worked on. An application process and other information will be rolled out by Thursday.
And as for Hausman, she says she won’t be too quick to take part in the outdoor dining experience.
“Probably not next Friday just because I’m assuming there’s going to be a lot of people out, but definitely over the next few weeks and month I’ll come down here to eat,” she said.