WHAT HAPPENS TO OUTDOOR DINING IN FALL AND WINTER?

Natale Servino, whose family has run Servino Ristorante in Tiburon, Calif., for 42 years, is hoping for a pleasant fall that transitions into a very mild winter.

Servino’s recent intense interest in weather patterns is driven by the newfound vitalness of outdoor dining at his restaurant. He’s currently hard at work, making his operation’s outdoor area even more hospitable to diners, while trying to find ways to use the space even in inclement weather.

“We’re hoping to carry this as far into winter as we can go,” he said. “[Outdoor dining] was on our radar but we never made the full investment because outdoor seating was just a small segment of our dining.”

Now, though, Servino and other operators are counting on outdoor business to bring in almost all, if not all, of a restaurant’s sales during the pandemic. So, they’re coming up with creative ways to keep those outdoor spaces inviting even as the weather in many parts of the country turns less-than-picnic-perfect.