Southwest Detroit Installs Heated Outdoor Dining Enclosures For Neighborhood Restaurants | Eater Detroit

"The first of a series of eight-by-eight-foot, five-sided luminarias is being installed at Armando’s Mexican Restaurant on West Vernor; these plexiglass-and-iron enclosures, designed to mimic the look of traditional paper lanterns indigenous to the southwestern U.S. and Central America, provide heated, sheltered seating for up to six people with customizable colored lighting to enable comfortable pandemic-era outdoor dining while indoor service is suspended under Michigan’s winter COVID-19 order. The Southwest Detroit Business Association, in partnership with the Hudson Webber Foundation, AptumBuild Solutions, and Diseños Ornamental Iron, plans to install a total of 15 luminarias and will cover a large portion of manufacturing and installation costs, though participating restaurants must make a $1,000 contribution; the program is still signing up restaurants for a limited supply." - Brenna Houck