A Chicago Bar Preps for Cold Weather Service During COVID-19 | Eater Chicago

"An Uptown neighborhood bar that rushed to outfit its sidewalk patios with propane heaters and fire pits after an early FedEx delivery, investing about $7,000 to extend outdoor service as COVID-19 keeps diners out of indoor spaces. The owner has kept the place open despite no profit in 2020 to pay staff, with front- and back-of-house employees covering multiple duties. The heaters—10 units across two patios, with the option to set up tables on Broadway via the city’s street dining program—are aimed at the bar’s windows so patrons can remain partly sheltered while watching sports on TVs visible from the patio. The venue, in operation since 2007 and normally bolstered by theater crowds, has added reservations to limit loitering, adopted a “safety is the new service” approach, started selling to-go wine and cookie dough, and hopes the outdoor heating will buy another two months of viable business through the fall and early winter." - Ashok Selvam