BUSINESS NEWS
4 • May 2021
Coast River Business Journal
Outdoor dining
Parklets, outdoor seating enliven downtown Astoria
Lisa Parks had to transform Brut Wine Bar in
Astoria into primarily a retail wine shop after the
coronavirus pandemic made it unfeasible to let
people drink inside her thin slot of a storefront. A
couple upside-down garbage cans and chairs out-
side the front door this spring allowed Parks to let
up to two groups sit down outside with glasses of
vino.
Parks and other business owners along 10th
Street have expanded parklets and other outdoor
seating during the pandemic in a bid to enliven
their corridor and draw more foot traffic.
Astoria allowed parklets, a temporary enclosed
seating area set in a parking spot, to help businesses
limited in capacity by the coronavirus. Other cities
have gone even further, shutting down entire rows
of parking spots and streets for restaurant seating.
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar was one of the first
to be approved to build a parklet on 13th Street.
Co-owner Michael Angiletta called the additional
outdoor seating a game-changer.
“It enables us to serve more people while we
are operating at reduced capacity,” he said. “And
… regardless of Oregon restrictions, it gives us an
awesome staging area on the weekends where cus-
tomers can sip on a cocktail outside while a table
becomes available inside.”
Kendall Padgett-McEuen and partner Wade
Padgett opened The Green Door Cafe in November
on 10th Street in between Duane and Commercial
streets, to main commercial thoroughfares down-
town along with Marine Drive. The couple cre-
ated a mostly to-go operation in the midst of virus
restrictions on indoor dining. Soon thereafter, they
applied with the city for a parklet that started going
up this month.
“I’m excited that it’s going to make our cafe
more visible from Commercial and Duane streets,”
Padgett said.
Padgett-McEuen said she is particularly excited
about the resurgence of 10th Street because most of
the businesses along the corridor are at least par-
tially owned by women.
Down the street is the Italian-themed Gaeta-
no’s Market & Deli, owned by Rachel Gaetano, her
brother, Matthew Gaetano, and his wife, Julie Hoff-
man. The market recently put out some stools and
barrels in its own effort to attract more people to
the sidewalks.
Rachel Gaetano said many of their customers
had wanted a place to sit and eat the sandwiches at
the market. But the storefront has no readily avail-
able bathroom required for indoor dining.
“We called the city and she said they are being
pretty lenient on it right now because of COVID, so
we thought we should just do it while that was the
case,” she said.
There is a growing sense of partnership among
10th Street businesses that hope to match the activ-
Story & Photos by Edward Stratton estratton@crbizjournal.com
ABOVE: Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar has expanded its capacity with outdoor seats and a parklet on 13th Street. BELOW: Wade Padgett works on a
parklet outside The Green Door Cafe. He and partner, Kendall Padgett-McEuen, hope that theirs and another parklet outside Brut Wine Bar will
help drive foot traffic on 10th Street in Astoria.
ity of 11th Street, where the city’s first parklet
was installed across from Astoria Coffeehouse &
Bistro, and where a food cart pod creates a large
amount of foot traffic.
Across the street from Brut is Merry Time Bar
& Grill, owned by Todd and Terry Robinett. With
several picnic tables already installed outside the
bar, the couple surrendered their approved parklet
permit to the city so Parks could move forward
with hers. Parks hoped to have the parklet installed
this month, adding space for another six to eight
people to sit outside.
“For me, it’s a game-changer,” Parks said. “It
will allow Brut to be open.”
Parks, who offers a small selection of snacks
at Brut, hopes to partner with other eateries along
10th Street to bring in food for people enjoying a
glass of wine. She’s excited about how all the new
outdoor seating will work together.
“You’re going to look down 10th Street and see
a lot of people having fun outside, and you’ll want
to go to 10th Street,” she said.