A Kamloops councillor who owns a The Vic coffee shop downtown says his business will again be taking part in the city’s expanded patio program.

Denis Walsh says he doesn’t think his business would’ve survived without it last summer, with limits to seating because of COVID-19 restrictions.

“We were lucky that our landlord was able to free up a space next door that we could expand into to put that. Because we have like seven tables in the main part of our restaurant. And if you get single-seaters then you have seven people, and you can’t run a business on that. So the patio is crucial to give us the right number of seating,” he says.

“I don’t think we could’ve survived last summer. We have to do a certain volume just to be able to afford to pay all the staff, the kitchen hop and everything. So it enabled us to stay in business last summer.”

Walsh expects the patio will be put up at his coffee shop starting next week.

There were 13 businesses that used the extended patio program last year, and The Vic was the first to be set up last spring.

The city contributed $195,000 to cover the cost of letdown ramps around those patios. Last year, the city also waived application fees for businesses that applied, and processed those applications within a week.

Walsh says the only difference with the patios this year is the city will install concrete letdowns for sidewalks, which he says will be more durable than the wood letdowns used last summer.

“Which is a good sign, because that means we’re moving towards a permanent fixture of having extended patios beyond COVID.”