By Mary O’KEEFE

Get ready to eat outside again as al fresco dining returns to the Montrose Shopping Park.

It has been awhile since extended outdoor dining has been in place along Honolulu Avenue. In June 2020, COVID-19 restrictions closed the doors of restaurants to indoor dining. In response, the City of Glendale – one of many communities in Los Angeles County and nationwide – established outdoor seating for diners, helping restaurant owners and their staff.

Restaurants were struggling and by offering outdoor seating for diners, who remained masked and maintained six feet physical distancing standards, cities like Glendale provided alternative dining options. In Glendale, K-rails were set up along the streets of Honolulu Avenue to designate dining areas. The areas were filled with chairs and tables. The City supported the project by providing some chairs and tables but many restaurant owners took it upon themselves to make the space their own by decorating the K-rails and ordering heaters and tent coverings.

Though most knew this was not going to be a permanent solution, al fresco dining had become very popular with restaurant goers. Glendale City Council voted to end the K-rail al fresco dining experience in October 2021 with plans to create a new outdoor dining experience that would be more permanent.

A revised outdoor dining experience in Montrose was planned for as early as November 2021. Unfortunately, those plans were too ambitious.

“We hit a number of snags,” said Bradley Calvert, assistant director of Community Development for the City of Glendale.

But now plans are moving forward and the new Montrose parklets/al fresco dining areas are expected to be installed beginning on Feb. 28 with completion expected by March 4, Calvert said.

The first installation will be near Thee Elbow Room in the 2400 block of Honolulu Avenue on Feb. 28 followed by the completion of one restaurant per day beginning at Joselito’s Mexican Food in the 2400 block of Honolulu followed by Montrose Town Kitchen & Grill, Blue Fish Japanese Restaurant and Basin 141 – all in the 2200 block of Honolulu.