Brews in a blanket? Edmonton hoping more businesses set up winter patios

Who says patio season needs to end when the cold weather begins setting in?

The City of Edmonton is continuing to urge businesses to develop winter patios in the city, as they hope to get more people outdoors enjoying the winter.

It’s part of their WinterCity Strategy and Vibrant Streets Program.

“One of the goals was to help develop a winter patio culture,” Isla Tanaka, the city’s WinterCity planner, told CityNews. “And we’ve been working on it for quite some time. We were starting to see a few pre-COVID, but once COVID hit, a lot of venues could serve outside, not inside, and so they created patios.”

This winter, the city awarded grants to all 27 businesses that applied – up to $2,000 each for a total of more than $50,000 – to help cover expenses for winter patios like furniture, blankets, and heaters.

“So they could use it for blankets, for fire pits, fire tables, chairs, furniture,” Tanaka said. “And even if they wanted to host a little event, they could use it for a DJ or music.”

The grants do not cover patio redevelopment, permit fees, or operational expenses like rent.

Omen Brewing, on 67 Avenue NW, set up its winter patio this season thanks to the municipal grant. Co-owner Rhys Oswald says the brewery applied for the grant in December, and received an answer just before Christmas.

They installed heated chairs around the outdoor fire tables to make people more comfortable.

“It’s great to be able to have it,” Oswald said. “Edmonton wants to be outside, people want to get outside. They’re always cooped up, especially in the winter. We just came off of a stretch of -30 and below weather, everyone is itching to get back out.

“I think people are going to be excited to get outside.”

Oswald expects the weekends to be busy: “Hopefully it can go really well… I think we will have people waiting for the seats,” he said.

Tanaka says it’s the first time WinterCity runs this particular grant. Previously, venues would approach the city informally to ask about funding.

“So we worked with those venues that were interested in it at the time.”

That evolved into a “more formal grant,” she says.

“We actually started with $40,000 and there was such much demand. And the two units – Winter City Unit and Vibrant Streets Unit, we partnered on this — we were able to come up with a little bit more and it was $50,000 we were able to give out.”

According to WinterCity’s website, there are 33 businesses in Edmonton with winter patios, including at least six dog-friendly locations. Omen Brewing is one of them, with dog beds and water bowls on the patio.

“Why does patio season have to just be in the summer?” Oswald said. “We have six months of winter, let’s embrace it and enjoy as much of it as we can.”

“We’re seeing a lot of social media buzz about winter patios, pictures of people sitting outside, and so that really for us is a positive – getting people outside in the winter time,” Tanaka added.