The Daily Citizen, Dalton, GA

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  • James Lesslie, left, Ralph Boe, center, and Peter Farley, who work at Beaulieu in Dalton, eat outside The Perfect Cup on Monday. The three said they prefer restaurants where outside dining is an option. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)

    outside dining.jpg

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July 19, 2011

Sidewalk dining now in downtown

Charles Oliver charlesoliver@daltoncitizen.com

Vaughn Cox, manager of the Iron Gate Pizzeria on Hamilton Street in downtown Dalton, says the restaurant’s patio is one of the most popular places for patrons to sit.

“Everyone seems to really love being outdoors and being able to see people pass by and have conversations with them,” he said. “I think if we were able to get something like that out on the sidewalk it would be popular.”

Members of the Dalton City Council voted 4-0 on Monday to approve an ordinance that permits sidewalk seating at downtown cafes as well as an ordinance to allow sidewalk cafes to serve alcoholic beverages. Restaurants must place a movable barrier between any tables and the rest of the sidewalk and leave at least four feet of sidewalk unobstructed.

“This will create an open-air atmosphere, which will be a draw for every restaurant downtown,” said Kasey Carpenter, owner of the Oakwood Cafe on Cuyler Street and the newly-opened Sweet Spot on Hamilton Street. He already has sidewalk tables at the Sweet Spot.

“We have six or seven tables and they were full all weekend,” he said.

“I guess they got a little ahead of us,” said Mayor David Pennington.

The sidewalks at the Oakwood aren’t wide enough for outside dining.

Council members also voted 4-0 to:

• Accept the donation by Mohawk Industries of an old chenille plant on South Hamilton Street near Bry-Man’s Plaza South. The site occupies almost an entire city block. City Administrator Ty Ross said long-range plans call for the site to be turned into a park and greenspace.

• Approve a resolution asking the General Assembly to draw the new lines of the 9th Congressional District to include Bartow, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Fannin, Floyd, Gilmer, Gordon, Pickens, Walker and Whitfield counties as well as part of northern Cherokee County. The General Assembly will meet in a special session starting Aug. 15 to draw the lines following population growth documented in the 2010 Census.

• Approve a resolution placing on the Nov. 8 ballot a referendum on allowing the city to create tax allocation districts (TADs). These special tax districts use any increase in property taxes in defined areas to pay for the cost of development.

• Approve a package beer license for Kashmir Tobacco Outlet and a beer pouring license for Discoteca Bar Sensual.

The council also issued a proclamation recognizing Friday, July 22, as Ken Macklin Day. Macklin is a Canadian sculptor whose work “Simoon” will be permanently placed in the Creative Arts Guild’s Robert T. Webb Sculpture Garden.

The council also received a presentation from University of Georgia landscape architecture students Jason Dazzo and Kristen Carroll on their designs for two trailheads on planned greenway that will connect Mount Rachel to downtown Dalton and the Crown Mill area. The two did the designs this summer while serving as interns in Dalton for the Archway Partnership, which connects local officials to experts and resources from the University System of Georgia to help with long-range planning.

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