On restaurant patios this summer, outdoor fans worked overtime. They buzzed madly in an attempt to cool patrons on the season’s hottest days. Now, as we head for winter’s chilly temps, local restaurants are pulling out heaters and dreaming up hearty dishes to keep customers warm.
Because whether temperatures rise or fall, many diners still want to eat outside, say the owners of local restaurants like Bistro Byronz and Los Reyes. Thanks to the CDC’s COVID-19 safety guidelines encouraging restaurant owners to prioritize outside seating, Baton Rouge is one of many cities that has seen a massive increase in outdoor dining options.
Restaurants have added bistro tables on sidewalks, planted chairs in gravel parking lots, and invested in dining-hall-sized tents. Many eateries have upped the ambiance with colorful umbrellas, string lights, custom murals and other amenities.
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For patrons at high risk for complications of the coronavirus, it’s meant the world to be able to feel safe sitting in a spacious parking lot at a restaurant like DiGiulio Brothers. And it’s provided relief for owners of restaurants like Cocha, too, who say the increase in outdoor dining has made spacing out their indoor dining rooms easier.
For our December cover story, we rounded up a list of more than 200 restaurants offering outdoor seating. You can flip through our digital edition below, where you’ll also find stories on health care care heroes, holiday ideas and so much more.