Outdoor dining: Worthington restaurants prepping for patio patrons
Spring is here, and that means Ohioans are wearing shorts and T-shirts one day, winter coats the next and rain jackets the next – and then back to shorts and T-shirts.
Spring's arrival also means the outdoor dining season has sprung, too.
Several popular Worthington restaurants are among those that are opening, planning to open or expanding their outdoor dining areas in anticipation of the gradually warmer months ahead.
“Our patio is definitely open,” said Sessa Melfe, a manager at La Chatelaine French Bakery & Bistro at 27 High St., which also has locations on West Lane Avenue in Upper Arlington and West Bridge Street in Dublin. “We welcome people to come to our patio, and we’re ready for summer.”
La Chatelaine opens its patio for guests in the warmer months, Melfe said. She said the patio at the Worthington location was opened in early March and has about 12 tables that could seat 50 to 60 people.
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Luis Munoz, owner of Chapala Mexican Restaurant at 530 High St., said his plans were to have a patio up and running the week of March 21. He said he anticipates having eight to 10 tables that will be able to seat 30 to 40 people.
“I think as soon as we clean the landscaping outside and get everything with a nicer look, we’re going to start advertising the patio,” Munoz said.
Chapala is a new business that was opened in February and is the latest member of the city’s Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area, commonly referred to as DORA.
Munoz said the first few weeks of business have gone according to plan and the restaurant has seen a respectable number of patrons.
“We’ve been busy. I think people like it,” he said. “We have a pretty good crowd for the first few weeks, which we think is normal. It’s a small community, and everyone wants to come and try us. I think people like it, and we enjoy serving them.”
The Whitney House at 666 High St., which touts “made-from-scratch, rustic-yet-refined, American comfort food” and is another member of the city’s DORA, is planning an expansion of its patio.
Co-owner Ian Brown said the Whitney House plans to expand its outdoor seating from seven tables to nine and be able to seat about 35 people outdoors.
“The city of Worthington has been wonderful to allow us to expand how many tables we put out there,” he said.
In addition to the expanded outdoor seating, Brown said, the Whitney House plans to roll out its summer menu in the next few weeks, featuring more sandwich and salad options and one of the largest menu overhauls the restaurant has done in a while.
“It’s a definite refresh on things that we’ve done in the past,” Brown said. “We will certainly be showcasing some of our most popular dishes, but this should be one of the biggest total encompassing menu changes that we’ve done in our seven years.”
Brown said the menu would feature new cocktails, including the Best in Thyme that features The Botanist gin, fresh lime juice, agave, macerated thyme sprigs and a dash of black pepper, and a barrel-aged Manhattan.
Brown said among the new entrees on the new menu are a green chili skillet cornbread with local honey butter, heirloom beets and crusted goat cheese with arugula and pistachio, and chili rub steak frites with chimichurri.
sborgna@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekSteve
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Worthington restaurants prepping for outdoor dining season
