Ground Broken on Carlsbad's First Official 'Curb Cafe'

North County's first "parklet" dedicated to restaurant dining broke ground this past week in Carlsbad Village. Garcia’s Mexican Restaurant, at 2968 State Street, will have approximately twenty additional seats for outdoor dining and is the first restaurant to take advantage of a pilot program that was approved by Carlsbad's City Council in March.

"Curb cafes," as they're called in Carlsbad, are temporary deck structures that extend into the right- of-way to create more dining opportunities adjacent to the sidewalk.

"These have been successful in revitalizing neighborhoods in San Francisco, Long Beach, and New York City, and they create a more European feel to downtown streets," said Ashley Westman of Urban Place Consulting Group, the city's downtown revitalization consultant. Urban Place worked with the city's planning and transportation departments to create the pilot program, which is the first of its kind in the region.

The three-year pilot program allows up to 11 curb cafes on low-speed streets in the core Village area.

–Urban Place Consulting Group, Inc. press release