Diners on the sidewalk patio outside of The Smith, at 400 N. Clark St., in River North on May 2. Last year, the city closed the entire street to vehicle traffic, allowing restaurants to place tables on the street.
Jim Vondruska/For The Sun-Times
Two weeks after the outdoor dining season officially began, city officials have issued clarity on the popular Clark Street closure in River North.
The closure of the three-block stretch on North Clark Street between Grand Avenue and Kinzie Street will return, but with a compromise that allows both dining and vehicle traffic on the street. The area was only open to pedestrian traffic in years past.
Permits issued Wednesday by the Chicago Department of Transportation allow restaurants to extend outdoor dining areas onto the sidewalk and the curb lane. They’re in effect through the end of the city’s outdoor dining season, which runs from May 1 to Oct. 31.
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office said in a statement that the new arrangement “balances the needs of residents, businesses, workers, visitors and the local community.”
“The format will give participating restaurants extra capacity and create an inviting outdoor space for dining, while taking into account the need for accessibility and traffic flow in the River North community,” the statement said.
Sections of North Clark Street, from West Grand Avenue to West Kinzie Street, are blocked off for expanded outdoor dining in November 2022.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The outdoor dining program was introduced in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to help restaurants continue to serve customers in a socially distant manner.
Eric Scofield, general manager of The Smith, a restaurant at Clark and Kinzie, said the business preferred a full street closure, but they’re thankful to have “a little bit more than just the sidewalk.”
“Obviously, we want the full street closure. It was great for the neighborhood and great for business, and we think it also attracted people to the area on a positive level,” Scofield said.
Last year’s full Clark Street closure didn’t happen until mid-July, so having an extended outdoor seating area this early in the year “is definitely a bonus,” Scofield added.
The sidewalk and curb lane space should give The Smith an extra 10 to 16 tables, far fewer than the 30 to 40 additional tables it had last year when the full street was closed to vehicle traffic. That difference isn’t expected to make too much of a dent in overall business, though, Scofield added.
Despite the new rules, The Smith is still hoping the city will expand outdoor seating later this summer, as it did last year after the NASCAR race in July.
“It was awesome for the neighborhood,” Scofield said. “It brought the right kind of people to the neighborhood that were having fun and spending money, so I think it was just an overall positive vibe in the summer for the city.”
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), whose ward includes the stretch of Clark Street, did not immediately respond to a request to comment on the announcement.
A survey last year by Reilly of more than 3,000 residents in the ward found at least 80% were strongly in favor of the street closure.