
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, June 17, 1994                   TAG: 9406240013
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SIDEWALK CAFES

``ALLONS DEJEUNER'' - French (or close enough) for ``let's do lunch'' - may be the appropriate greeting in downtown Roanoke as new sidewalk cafes come on the scene.

OK, it may be hard to imagine a Parisian atmosphere at a restaurant named The Greedy Pig. Sane or sensitive types may choose to avoid baking under a noonday sun on sweltering days like those we've suffered lately. And "sidewalk cafes" may be a bit of a stretch for describing the placement of tables and chairs outside a few eateries.

Even so, the concept will lend a more cosmopolitan flavor to the city's already flavorful downtown, and we're glad several restaurants and City Council want to give the idea a try.

The news helps distract a little from worry about Books, Strings & Things' prospects. After filing for reorganization of its credit under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last April, the City Market fixture was granted a one-month reprieve this week to use sales revenues to replenish stock. The question isn't simply whether the store can prove as fun a place for buying as for browsing, but also whether renewed focus on management and accounting can save the ship. Many are pulling for its salvation, but creditors and suppliers can be understandably strict when it comes to getting paid what they are owed.

Meanwhile, the rules for sidewalk cafes - as laid down by council - are strict as well. No alcohol, for instance, can be served at outdoor tables. This, presumably in an effort to discourage public drunkenness.

Perhaps people who enjoy patronizing outside cafes aren't usually the types to sit and drink until they're falling-down drunk. Perhaps, if a restaurant has a license to sell alcoholic beverages inside, it will seem harsh to prohibit selling a beer or glass of wine to customers sitting outside.

But helas, helas! One step at a time is the sensible way to go.

It's the sensible way for pedestrians, too, to go until they're accustomed to negotiating tables and chairs and diners on the sidewalks. On a pleasant weekday lunch hour or a busy Saturday night outside Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea, those sidewalks can get crowded.

But that, like the advent of sidewalk cafes, is another measure of the extraordinary if mixed success in attracting people to a lively, if still limited, district of Roanoke's downtown.

by CNB