The continued growth in sidewalk cafes help animate Downtown streets, adding both people and color. There are now 165 sidewalk cafes in the DowntownDC BID area, versus 147 a year ago—a 12 percent increase, according to the DowntownDC BID’s Annual Inventory of Sidewalk Cafes. During the same period, the number of seats climbed to 4,937 from 4,361—a 13 percent jump.
In terms of the type of cafes, smaller ones (seating 1-20) increased 16 percent over the previous year, while medium-to large-sized cafes jumped 8 percent and 9 percent, respectively. The medium cafes seat 21-40 diners; the large cafes seat 41+. Overall, Downtown cafes have about 30 seats per location, ranging from two seats to 232 seats.
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Expect to see even more. The DowntownDC BID actively promotes sidewalk cafes as a high priority amenity. From the simple to the sizeable, there’s no denying the cafes have a dramatic impact on urban streetscapes. Whether enclosed or separated from pedestrians with decorative fencing, removable bollards or topiary trees, the cafes encourage more vibrant street life, offer a place to sit and relax, people watch and meet friends and bring more pedestrians into neighborhoods.