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Deadline looms for DC restaurants that want to keep their 'streateries' open

By and FOX 5 DC Digital Team
Published  November 25, 2025 9:49pm EST
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FOX 5 DC
Restaurants face looming deadline on 'streateries' in DC

Restaurants face looming deadline on 'streateries' in DC

The clock is ticking for D.C.’s streateries. The deadline for new rules and fees is just days away and many restaurants are now making their final call: keep the outdoor spaces or take them down. Our Shirin Rajaee is live in Adams Morgan with the latest.

The Brief

    • ‘Streateries,' a pandemic-era solution to help restaurants accommodate social distancing, will soon cost businesses money.
    • Beginning Nov. 30, new rules and fees for outdoor dining structures are set to take effect.
    • Restaurants will have to pay application fees, annual permit fees and even a cost per square foot of street space.
    • Some restaurant owners say the costs could be too steep to keep them in place.

WASHINGTON - The clock is ticking for D.C.’s "streateries." The deadline for new rules and fees is just days away and many restaurants are now making their final call: keep the outdoor spaces or take them down. Our Shirin Rajaee is live in Adams Morgan with the latest.

There are just five more days for D.C. restaurant owners have to decide whether they’ll be keeping their "streateries" — sidewalk eating spaces that started out as a real lifeline during the pandemic.

Now, they have to weigh the costs, fees and new restrictions that the D.C. Department of Transportation will be rolling out in this permanent program. 

What we know:

This started as a temporary "streatery" program that launched in 2020, but it’s now shifting to a permanent system with new permit requirements, design rules and fees that many businesses say they just can’t absorb.

Restaurants will have to pay application fees, annual permit fees and even a cost per square foot of street space. Some may even need architects to redesign their structures to meet DDOT standards.

A survey of 33 Adams Morgan businesses found operating a streatery could cost between $15,000 and $24,000 a year. 

PREVIOUS STORY: 'Streateries' in D.C. face uncertain future as new rules and fees take effect

What they're saying:

"We just decided to let them tear it down. It wasn’t beneficial for us, honestly, for us to be able to use it… with the cost of square foot, it just wasn’t beneficial for what they’re pricing," said Adrian Guardado, general manager of Tiki on 18th. 

At Tiki on 18th, the one big benefit the general manager sees is parking.

"People are looking for parking. It’s hard to find parking in Adam‘s Morgan. I’ve heard a lot, so, hopefully, tearing them down it opens up parking and it allows people to come back to Adam’s Morgan. A few years ago it was very popping and lit, but now it’s slowed down a little bit in this area," Guardado said. 

The owner of The Green Zone restaurant says losing his space would be a big loss — about one-third of his revenue. He's hoping the city changes their regulations.

"Basically, if we can rebuild this identically or similarly enough, then for sure I would rebuild it under the current regulations. I’m still on the fence about it," said Chris Francke, owner of the Green Zone.

Big picture view:

DDOT says the program was always temporary and business owners have had a year to prepare. 

The new rules go into effect on Nov. 30. 

FOX 5 reached out to DDOT to get specifics on when they would be torn down and how many restaurants have opted to keep them. We’re waiting to hear back. 

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