ENCINITAS — One of the newest and trendiest eateries is expanding after the city approved the restaurant’s plans for an outdoor dining area on a downtown sidewalk.
Following the city’s recent decision, Sago, which is located next to the historic Paloma Theater, will now be able to seat up to 40 people in the new outdoor space along D Street.
According to Sago owner Dale Polselli, the existing bike racks and trash cans will be replaced with a hardwood deck and birds of paradise palm trees to create an “elevated look” spanning around three cars in length.
The upscale jungle-themed venue is currently able to accommodate around 120 guests.
“Having outdoor dining is amazing for the community and businesses,” said Polselli, who owns Shelter Bar and The Saloon. “Hats off to the City Council for extending and moving to make it permanent.”
However, not all local businesses are happy about the outdoor dining situation, which began when temporary permits were issued during the COVID-19 pandemic and resulted in the loss of almost 100 parking spaces.
“We’d like the parking to return to normal like before COVID,” said Kim Nguyen, owner of Kim’s Alterations on South Coast Highway 101. “It’s not easy to park. My customers say they drive around and around and circle three or four times before they can park.”
Sago’s outdoor dining project follows the council’s adoption of a resolution last Wednesday to charge restaurant owners a monthly fee for outdoor dining in the public right-of-way. The charge, $2.50 per square foot, was originally slated at $2 per square foot, but Councilmember Allison Blackwell proposed to increase the rates to match the cities of San Diego and Carlsbad.
“I don’t want to scare off too many of the outdoor dining areas; we want to encourage it, so I’m trying to find that right balance,” Blackwell said.
Polselli has mixed feelings about the charges but largely feels they are too expensive, especially for smaller establishments and thinks the issue should have been an agenda item that could have been discussed in greater detail.
“I definitely want to applaud the City Council for everything they’ve done with the outdoor dining, but the cities they were comparing Encinitas to are very different,” Polselli said. “Those areas have several restaurants making $10 million or more in sales per year. I’d say the majority of businesses with patios here are in the $1 to $5 million range.”
The new outdoor dining fees will take effect from Aug. 1.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the Encinitas City Council approved the outdoor dining plans. The city planning department is responsible for approving the plans.
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Who would have thought that the council giving away public parking spaces for private financial gain to liquor/restaurants would be the start of and lost of public parking and narrow sidewalks on a downtown side street to increase one business occupancy level to an additional 50% (60 people at tables on the sidewalk and into the parking spaces). According to the article: Sago, the restaurant, with “The upscale jungle-themed venue is currently able to accommodate around 120 guests.
“Having outdoor dining is amazing for the community and businesses,” said Polselli, who owns Shelter Bar and The Saloon. “Hats off to the City Council for extending and moving to make it permanent.” Except for Bruce Ehlers, don’t vote for the other council members. This is just the beginning of the ruination of Encinitas.