[Exclusive] Storico Fresco Team Offers To Donate On-Street Dining Design To City For Wide Use by Restaurateurs

Pietro Gianni, Stephen Peterson, and chef Michael Patrick, in partnership with ASD | SKY, are hoping to donate their “parklet” design to the City of Atlanta for wide use by restaurateurs wanting to build on-street dining in coordination with a newly-passed ordinance. The parklets were created to provide seating for up to eight people across one single parking space in an outdoor environment that will stand up to the elements, year-round. The first restaurant to utilize the new design will be Storico Fresco Alimentari e Ristorante.

The parklet idea got off the ground last month when Gianni was approached by the City’s zoning office after setting up chairs and tables in a Storico Fresco parking space. “I told Atlanta City Council President Felicia Moore we needed outdoor dining amid the pandemic, that there’s no choice,” Gianni told What Now Atlanta Monday in a telephone interview. “Moore moved quickly, and all that’s left in bringing our parklet design to life is figuring out the best way to permit it.”

Gianni and his team are in the process of designing a prototype and then, would like to make the information available to the City and any restaurateur who wants the plans, free of charge, if permitted. “If we can get 300 restaurants to build this parklet, the industry will be in great shape as we navigate the next three, four months,” Gianni said. “We decided a few hours ago we aren’t going to profit from this. We hope the City uses it to the best of its ability to help our fellow restaurants.”

Gianni is hoping that, besides saving money by hiring an architect, that restaurateurs can save time to get this parklet design implemented as soon as possible to stop the financial bleeding. “Every month without outdoor seating is lost revenue,” Gianni said. “Our design fits inside a parking space. Everything is in the plans. All a restaurant owner has to do is take the plans to the office of permitting.”

Gianni said each parklet will cost about $6,000 versus upwards of $20,000 if a restaurant goes at it alone. Holding two four-top tables with six feet of social distancing, the parklet can withstand “winter, rain, heat. We hopefully thought about everything. We designed it to be affordable. Nothing has to be ordered special. It can be built within weeks.”

The City of Atlanta is looking at how it might provide concrete barriers to restaurants that would be positioned between the parklets and the road, according to Gianni. “As long as diners continue to be safe and there isn’t a Snowmageddon 2021, we’re hopeful for the outlook next year.”

[Editor’s note: this article was updated to reflect that Gianni and his team are looking at donating the parklet plans, and includes other points of clarification provided by the Atlanta Department of City Planning.]