Patios can help create vibrant and welcoming atmospheres for residents and tourists, encouraging people to linger, reconnect and support local businesses. The patios installed along King Street in downtown Kitchener did just that, and more, generating $3.2 million in total sales over just two seasons, which translates into a return of 3.4 times on the investment.

Installed and improved at over 40 fine dining and casual restaurants, cafés, and public spaces throughout the street, these patios boosted capacity for local businesses while offsetting their upfront costs.

The Downtown Kitchener (DTK) Patio Program was funded by the My Main Street (MMS) Community Activator Program, as part of the Government of Canada’s $23.25-million investment in My Main Street through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and the Canadian Urban Institute (CUI). The shared mission was to help main street businesses recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. My Main Street added $250,000 to the Downtown Kitchener BIA’s investment of $683,000 via local business levies, helping the BIA furnish, beautify and install patios.

The Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) conducted a study to analyze which My Main Street Community Activator programs had the strongest impacts. By analyzing credit card and Interac payment data from Moneris and footfall data from Environics Analytics, CUI found that the patio program achieved the following:

• Throughout the summers of 2021 and 2022, evening foot traffic rebounded nearly 40 percent from 2020 levels,
• Businesses in downtown Kitchener brought in an estimated $37 million in credit card and Interac sales, of which $3.2 million or nine percent was a direct result of the patio program.

“The patio structures were custom built for our streetscape to include coverings overhead for sun and rain, and more functional furniture and comfortable seating,” says Linda Jutzi, Executive Director of the Downtown Kitchener BIA. “This investment served as a recovery program for the entire district. The patios became a beautification project for downtown Kitchener as they created a professional and attractive look to our streets.”

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic credits the patio program, and the partnerships developed because of it, as being critical to helping restaurants and residents recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“For many of our local restaurants, the patio expansion program, made possible in part by the My Main Street Community Activator Program, helped install new and expanded patios to support our hospitality operators at a very challenging time,” says Vrbanovic.

“The partnership with the Government of Canada, our local Kitchener Downtown BIA and the City, through our expedited approvals and an extended patio season, all helped to support both these local businesses who were impacted significantly and our residents who wanted to safely re-connect with friends and family in a social setting.”

Sugar Run, a local rum bar, was just one of many businesses that benefitted. The bar had no patio before the program, and the restaurant lost most of its business during the pandemic. The owner, Kypp Saunders, had this to say: “We cannot thank the Kitchener Downtown BIA enough for the efforts made to create a patio space for Sugar Run. The BIA was tremendous in creating an amazing space for our guests to enjoy.”