Downtown Bowling Green gets new Parklets for outdoor seating

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio (WTVG) - Downtown Bowling Green looks a little different today. The city installed three new parklets -- small outdoor seating areas -- outside three downtown businesses. These new installations outside Juniper Brewing Company, Grounds for Thought, and Kabob It, are intended to solve some problems regarding foot traffic and also benefit the business owners.

“So they solve a practical problem which is that we have very narrow sidewalks, but bigger picture stuff I hope they drive more people to our businesses to shop, eat, dine,” says Rachel Phipps, a Bowling Green City Council member.

Kabob It is a smaller restaurant in the downtown area, and they are excited about the new installation, because of the extra seating it will provide.

“We’re hoping to get around 20 people on that patio at all times,” says Kabob It owner, Zach Baroudi. “We’re already kind of a small dining room, so it gives us that extra dining room at the outside,”

The parklets are also providing a more COVID-conscious dining solution for local restaurants.

“We have had a lot of people calling in and asking, ‘hey we have small children or children who aren’t vaccinated or whatever... do you have outdoor seating?’” says Ciera Moore, the manager of Juniper Brewing Company. “We are hoping that it makes people feel more comfortable and more safe. Being able to be separated, but also enjoy all the things we have to offer,”

“I think it’s great,” says Bowling Green State University student Eleanor Pheling. “You know one of the biggest downfalls we had in BG from COVID, was not being able to use our local restaurants. So I think this new opportunity which is outdoor seating is a great opportunity to bring more people downtown. We will definitely be getting more of the students to come downtown too probably. I think that will be great especially for small businesses.”

The parklets will be installed until November and will be taken down during the snow months before returning in April.

Copyright 2021 WTVG. All rights reserved.