Chula Vista’s Third Avenue these days looks like a beach town’s boardwalk after Labor Day. The good-time atmosphere has been packed up and stored away, the crowds that milled about and tossed money at merchants and eateries have gone home or are staying away, hunkering down for the approaching autumn.
Third Avenue downtown, of course, never exactly mirrored the boardwalks in Pacific and Mission Beach. At times it had faint resemblance to Little Italy’s India Street but in a second, distant cousin sort of way.
Nonetheless there was a palpable exuberance and a neighborly joy that wafted along a two block stretch of the avenue as diners and beer drinkers enjoyed the great outdoors on city streets in makeshift patios.
But the decks and quasi-enclosed seating areas are gone, thanks to the city of Chula Vista’s finally closing down the patios and parklets that were always intended and advertised as temporary measures.
For those with a short memory or selective amnesia, the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 brought life as we knew it to a standstill, requiring families and workers to stay home. Socializing in bars and restaurants was suspended. The hospitality industry took an immediate hit as they scrambled to find ways to stay afloat by offering take out or delivery service.
The city of Chula Vista—like many municipalities throughout the county—eventually loosened its outdoor dining regulations and allowed for dining areas and patios to be erected on sidewalks and city streets. Temporarily.
While most of the dining establishments praised the arrangement, it’s important to remember not all the businesses on Third are restaurants, or benefitted from the outdoor patios.
They were hurt by the absence of convenient parking that allowed customers to patronize their stores and contribute to their livelihoods. What was good for some was not good for all.
After extending patio allowances a number of times, the city finally followed through and required they all be shut down by last week.
The closures are unfortunate but necessary. It’s important the city find a way to allow for outdoor and sidewalk dining that is fair and equitable to all the businesses on Third Avenue. Benefitting the few seldom if ever serves the whole.
