Orange closes Glassell Street in Old Towne Orange to make room for outdoor dining
By Orange County on July 9, 2020
Old Towne Orange looks a little different this week, with outdoor tables, patio umbrellas and grassy carpet greeting diners and shoppers on Glassell Street where cars streamed by just days ago.
The city blocked Glassell from Maple Avenue to Almond Avenue off to vehicles starting Wednesday, July 8, to create more opportunities for outdoor dining and shopping. Cars can still travel through the traffic circle using Chapman Avenue, although parking spaces in the Orange Plaza’s southwest quadrant were cordoned off for the restaurants there to also create outdoor dining areas.
Bozy and Rick Hodge celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the new outdoor dinning area outside Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bozy and Rick Hodge celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a margarita in the new outdoor dinning area outside Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020. the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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Hero, a rescue terrier-mix, waits patiently while his owners Whitaker and Susanne Rehm of Garden Grove, have dinner in the outdoor dinning area at Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Will Dee, left, owner of Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar, along with bartender Tony Bounyaseng, center, and Daniel Parr roll green carpet on the street for outdoor dining in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Guests dine on Glassell Street outside of Citrus City Grill and Smoqued California Barbecue in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Server Juan Roman, right, brings Bozy and Rick Hodge margaritas as they celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in the new outdoor dinning area outside Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The new outdoor dinning area on Glassell Street outside Gabbi’s Mexican Kitchen in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Diners eat in the new outdoor seating area on Glassell Street outside Francoli Gourmet in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Diners sit in the new outdoor seating on Plaza Square outside Urth Caffé in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Barricades outside Watson’s Cafe creates an outdoor street dinning area in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Diners sit in the new outdoor seating area on Plaza Square outside Urth Caffé in Orange on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 after the city closed off sections of Glassell Street to allow restaurants in Old Towne Orange to offer outdoor dining on the sidewalk and streets to comply with the state’s COVID-19 guidelines. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Glassell will be closed through July 31, although the City Council could choose to extend the Orange Plaza Paseo program.
“It’s something we need to try and help our businesses out, and we’ll do everything we can to make it successful and evaluate it within a month,” City Manager Rick Otto told the council at its July 2 meeting when it voted to close Glassell.
Restaurants need to fill out a one-page form for a temporary outdoor dining permit and meet a few other simple requirements to extend their operations out onto the street, city spokesman Paul Sitkoff said.
Wil Dee has two businesses – Haven Craft Kitchen + Bar and Provisions Deli & Bottle Shop – using Glassell Street for outdoor dining. He saw an uptick in business on Wednesday, he said.
Dee said he has about 20 outdoor tables at Haven, compared to 34 he would normally have indoors. Spreading the tables to account for social distancing remains a challenge, he said. But he’s hopeful about the potential benefit of outdoor dining for his businesses.
“It’s promising,” he said. “Talking with a few businesses, you are definitely seeing some uptick, where people feel more comfortable.”
City officials had discussed closing the entire plaza to vehicle traffic, but worried it could impede the city’s public safety response, Sitkoff said.
But several on-street parking spaces on Chapman Avenue and Orange Street have been blocked off for dining, Sitkoff said. Outdoor dining is also allowed in private walkways and parking lots in the city, he said.
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