Posted on 05/27/2021 at 10:32 AM
Who’s ready for a new experience in downtown Grinnell? Streatery dining is coming soon! Late last summer, we worked with a few downtown businesses on a pilot program for in-street dining options to help restaurants creatively and safely serve customers in the midst of the pandemic. Less than a week after the City Council approved a pilot program, the derecho hit the community. As our staff and businesses were then dealing with other issues caused by the storm, the project was put on a temporary pause and unfortunately didn’t gain traction before winter. We are excited to share that the streateries are once again in motion, and should be up and running soon! Within the next couple of weeks, we anticipate more outdoor dining options in our downtown district. Of course, this is in addition to the patio options already available at Relish Grinnell and Hotel Grinnell’s Periodic Table. We know that we have a fairly short window of time to enjoy outdoor dining in Grinnell and Iowa in general, but are excited to see these spaces transform and help welcome residents and visitors alike. In polling we did last fall, nearly 82% of survey respondents noted they would dine out more frequently if outdoor dining were an option. While we know the addition of a vaccine has changed some of this outlook we believe this project is still pertinent and imperative to supporting our restaurant industry. We hope the streateries will not only help continue to boost consumer confidence, but provide an opportunity to enjoy some of the wonderful weather [present company not included 😉 ] Iowa has to offer in the summer and fall. As soon as the streateries are up and running (hopefully within the week!), we’ll be sure to let you know and will invite you to join us for a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate this new effort to creatively support some of our small businesses most impacted by the pandemic. –Rachael Kinnick
