New outdoor seating area opens in Fruita

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) -The city of Fruita has decided to open two new outdoor seating areas. One is on Mulberry Street and is scheduled to open in the next two weeks. It is currently under construction. There is another seating area on Peach Street which opened over this past weekend.

“Early on in the pandemic we realized that public health orders caused kind of a strain on our local businesses, so we wanted to create a space that allows citizens and guests an opportunity to spread out and enjoy our local businesses in a safe and socially distant manner,” said Shannon Vassen, assistant to the City Manager.

They knew that taking up street spots would eliminate some parking, so the city made sure to place these seating areas close to parking lots.

The goal of the outdoor seating area is to help local businesses, which it has already been doing.

It has only been open for a few days and “already it was like regular Fall numbers, finally, because it’s been pretty slow being at 50% capacity,” said Michele Collins, Owner of Copper Club Brewing Company. She even said that they have finally been able to bring back all of their employees because they are so much busier with the outdoor sitting area.

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