SAN DIEGO — The main stretch of Avenida de la Playa in the La Jolla Shores area is closing to vehicles through September so restaurants can set up tables out on the asphalt.
Restaurants began setting up Wednesday for the outdoor service, which will run through Sept. 27. The change comes in response to a new round of Coronavirus related restrictions that make it illegal for restaurant to serve food indoors.
Avenida de la Playa will close to cars from El Paseo Grande to Calle de la Plata. Restaurants will be setting up in the part of the street that was reserved for parking spaces. There will be a 20-foot wide walkway down the center of the road for pedestrians to pass.
The move will allow restaurants that lost capacity due to restrictions a chance to add tables. Piatti, for instance, will get 16 additional tables by moving outside, creating 35 new shifts for its workers.
"I've been here 29 years and I've been able to tell people I'll have something in an hour, I'll be able to seat you in 90 minutes. Those are extreme wait times. and now I'm actually saying for the first time ever, I don't have anything tonight," said Piatti General Manager Tom Spano.
The lunch and dinner service will run from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
