A reader sent us this photo and the announcement that a new street parking patio deck was going in on Newport Ave., this morning, Friday, Aug. 11.
It’s going up in front of the double-businesses of Harry’s Taco Club and Cass St. Cocktails & Burgers.
Is this progress, forward motion, or is it going backwards? It’s the loss of more parking on OB’s main commercial street vs the convenience of the business’ customers.
We’re assuming the owners have paid for their city permits. It appears the popularity of outdoor eating and drinking is still with us despite the downward slug of COVID (although there is a slight summer upsurge currently).
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I’m confused. Did Mike’s become Harry’s? I know there is Harry’s on Cass St. and assumed they’re both under the same ownership.
https://obrag.org/2023/06/cass-street-bar-grill-and-harrys-taco-shop-opens-at-former-sapporo-restaurant-in-ocean-beach/
Great, thanks Vern for linking to our June post about the businesses.
Interesting. I remember Harry’s in PB having the exact same menu as Mike’s in OB. Both having a very similar menu to Oscar’s. So Harry’s and Mike’s are right across the street from each other. Cool that Cass St bar and grill now has an OB location.
I remember the short period when Black Sands (owned by the former owner of Sapporo) occupied the bottom floor of South Beach. Sad they didn’t make it but glad South Beach went back to having two floors.
I saw that structure and thought, well- rhis block of Newport is going to be a one way street, or blocked off to cars soon. It’s often impossible for two cars to pass when big trucks are parked, delivery trucks are double parked, etc. Is this what our town wants?
Backward
“street parking patio deck”…the obvious evolution of the covid encroachment! These retailers were allowed to convert from temp to perm encroachment onto the pubic space during covid. No matter what-all they might have, 1-time, paid for a permit, it was not the City Council’s to give away permanently or, perpetually, thru permit. Sorry, but wrong imo. Public space, whether its walking or parking, has been so usurped all over the country post-covid…very surprised taxpayers are so accommodating…
I love the vibrancy and streetmosphere that outdoor dining adds to our lil district! However, i am opposed to the removal of public space for the gain of private businesses. I think it’s pretty wack that our already tiny sidewalks are getting eaten up by patios.
I lived in San Francisco, where there was a really cool ‘parklet’ program.
parking spaces were taken away to form beautiful seating areas, each with a unique artistic style made from salvaged and reclaimed materials.
But this was public space- not YOUR restaraunts space only for your customers.
I think this is a better solution.
speaking long term, yeah, newport should go car free. In order to make that possible, we will need a larger (multi story) lot somewhere. (AND better infrastructure and public transpo)
It’s already such a pain to drive on with these big ass trucks sticking way the heck out.
Moving forward: The deck patio appears to take up a whopping two parking spaces; not really a big deal. The benefits outweigh the detriments by far. A loss of two parking spaces is inconsequential, whereas a cool hang out area where people can eat and drink beer with a nice ocean view is a big plus. There’s an entire parking lot right down the street too. We need less cars and more bicycles anyway.