SAN DIEGO — It was a big weekend in downtown San Diego. Saturday marked the first Saturday night many restaurants could open with more outdoor space on the streets.
The outdoor dining started at G Street in the Gaslamp and extended all the way to L street along 5th Avenue making each individual block its own open area.
Fifth Avenue will be closed from L Street to G Street starting at 3 p.m. through midnight on Thursdays and Fridays to accommodate the plan. During the weekends, the streets will be closed from noon to midnight.
The manager or the Field Irish Pub, Phillip Nestor told News 8, “It’s been a good vibe Downtown everyone’s taking responsibility to do the social distancing, it’s a bit more work but it’s worth it.”
With no cars allowed on 5th, eight restaurants have spilled out onto the street with dining outside, allowing for fresh air on the first day of summer.
The program is similar to what Little Italy started last weekend. Anything to get people back out to help bring these businesses back to life. Restaurants that had to shut down since March are starting to rehire employees.
The outdoor street space will expand to F Street next weekend, and 12 restaurants plan to open for outdoor dining. Michael Trimble with the Gaslamp Association said all they have to do is pay an extra $100 fee to ABC to allow for people to drink outside.