Permits, Approvals? Forget it! Give Me Chaos!
The lawless and creative world of restaurant owners and retail rogues.
An amazing and positive change that the pandemic gave us was innovative outdoor retail. Communities across the country found that the best way to support struggling restaurants, bars, and experience-based retailers was to let the business owners do what they wanted. Yes, forget the rules and take over the world outside your door. When indoor dining was closed what was the alternative? How about we just suspend the rules and permits, requirements, hearings, and regulations that monitor outdoor dining, forget alcohol restrictions and allow beer to be served anywhere, offer alcohol to-go or perhaps just walk down the street with a beer in your hand.
In other words, just do less: take away the rules, and let restaurants do what they want! Cities did exactly that and the power went to the innovative restaurant/bar owners and retailers who reinvented themselves..and the customer has been the ultimate beneficiary.
The question we all now ask is where are the drunks parading about in their underwear, shoeless and accosting people with a margarita in one hand and a beer in the other yelling obscenities?
Didn’t we create these rules to protect the public from this madness? I’ve seen nothing but cordial people casually hanging out eating, drinking, and occasionally laughing as I walk down my local neighborhood shopping street. I’ve noticed that, with the alcohol regulations suspended, outdoor service everywhere, and virtually no rules enforced, nothing has gone wrong. It actually feels like a French village town center minus the smoking.
Letting go of all the rules to survive created innovation and evolution.
California, as those of you residing here know, the state suspended a whole slew of alcohol serving rules and allowed everything from alcohol consumption outside to actually being able to walk down the street with a drink or pick up mixed drinks or, heaven forbid, have drinks, beer or wine delivered to you! This, on top of being able to serve food basically wherever you’d like, has changed the entire dynamic of retail regulation.
Some of the most creative outdoor eating areas have been designed and built without any city input or permitting.
Lastly, the cumbersome, expensive, and over-regulated permitting and approval process in many cities doesn’t really protect anyone from anything. Out of this innovation, we are now rediscovering our walkable neighborhood and downtown shopping areas.
Innovation comes from entrepreneurs finding ways to succeed, not from the rule-makers.
The explosion of outdoor seating parklets, seating structures and dining venues complete with roofing, lighting, heating, and even piped-in music took place without government involvement or public approval. Innovation and a need to survive drove entrepreneurs to create and collaborate. Is this opening a new opportunity for retail? Are we going to see more innovation and freelance approaches to the retail experience? Only time will tell.
Steven Donaldson, Principal, RadiantBrands