Business Owners Say the City is Spoiling Outdoor Dining With Exorbitant Insurance Requirements
It will be quick and easy, they said. When the Bowser administration rolled out its plan for expanded outdoor dining to help more restaurants and bars participate in Phase One of reopening, it sounded simple enough. Businesses looking to add a few tables to their existing sidewalk café area had to complete an online registration form. If they sought to add a table or two in front of an adjacent business, they had to obtain permission from the building owner.
But there’s more to it. “The Office of Risk Management is requiring exorbitantly steep insurance coverage that goes well beyond what has always previously been needed to insure a patio or a whole bar,” says Showtime Lounge owner Paul Vivari. He wants to add a single table in front of the residential building next door to his Bloomingdale bar. Doing so would increase his annual insurance premiums by $16,000.
Historically, restaurants and bars have only been required to have a $1 million general liability policy to operate a sidewalk café. The policy protects the District should an incident like a slip and fall happen in a restaurant’s outdoor seating area that extends into public space.
“That’s been on the books forever and is pretty straightforward,” says The Veritas Law Firm attorney Andrew Kline, who frequently represents hospitality industry businesses. “When temporary use of public space was allowed by executive order, somehow Risk Management got into it. They imposed more onerous requirements.”
Read more: https://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/food/article/21139068/business-owners-say-the-city-is-spoiling-outdoor-dining-with-exorbitant-insurance-requirements
