Arlington Alfresco, the outdoor dining venue created during the coronavirus pandemic, will return to downtown Arlington Heights again this summer and an increase in the food and beverage tax will help fund it, village officials said.
Arlington Heights village trustees voted 7-0 at the Jan. 18 Village Board meeting to make the popular outdoor dining venue an annual event, and to increase the food and beverage tax by 75 cents for every $100 spent. Trustees Tom Schwingbeck and Richard Baldino were not in attendance at the meeting.
The tax will be passed on to consumers.
“It does cost some money to do Alfresco,” Village Manager Randy Recklaus said in an interview with Pioneer Press after the meeting. “Alfresco directly benefits a limited number of businesses. We felt it only fair those patrons, many of whom are out of town guests, should be bearing the burden of that versus [taking money from] the village’s general fund [to pay the expenses].”
He said the general fund comes from revenue paid for by all taxpayers in Arlington Heights.
The outdoor dining venue will run from mid-May to the end of September this year in downtown Arlington Heights.
Charles Witherington-Perkins, village director of planning and community development, presented an overview of the event during a recent Committee-of-the-Whole meeting, projecting the village will pay $87,400 this summer for Public Works Department staff overtime to set up, take down and maintain the venue, along with equipment, supplies, planning and signage. This projection, he said, does not include additional costs for parking agreements, a pending parking study and implementation, curb bump out enhancements for some restaurants and other improvements.
Although there wasn’t any discussion on Arlington Alfresco by trustees at the board meeting before the vote, Trustee John Scaletta said there had been an exhaustive discussion during the recent Committee-of-the-Whole meeting.
“We had a lot of our stakeholders here, Village Board, staff and a lively discussion,” Scaletta said.
The current food and beverage tax for restaurants participating in the outdoor dining venue is 1.25%, Perkins said, and the village collected $265,338 in taxes through October 2021. He recommended the board authorize, which they did, an additional tax of 75 cents on a $100 meal, or about 8 cents on a $10 beverage for restaurants within the alfresco zone. That zone includes restaurants on Campbell Street from Highland Avenue east to Dunton Avenue, and from the Vail Avenue garage north to Wing Street. The tax will start Feb. 1 and run year-round, Recklaus said, in order to cover village costs associated with the zone.
The board also approved an annual street use licensing fee for restaurants not within the alfresco zone but want to use public property for outdoor seating. However, the fee does not include “bump out” street dining situations in the village. Those costs, Recklaus said, are still under discussion.
Village staff anticipate the new tax – which could generate upwards of $141,000 based on recent sales figures – will also assist in offsetting a portion of the downtown “Sounds of Summer” concert series. It may also be used to subsidize the renting of private parking spaces in the Vail Avenue garage for additional event parking, Recklaus said.
“For traffic, when we had busier nights, we found parking was beginning to be an issue,” Recklaus acknowledged. “We invested in a parking system in our deck [Vail Avenue garage] and we were filling up. Folks were parking in private parking spaces where they shouldn’t.”
In addition to continuing discussions with private property owners about parking, village staff is also exploring the long-term potential of an electric vehicle shuttle program and its costs and benefits.
The board also approved the continuation of outdoor live music within the Arlington Alfresco zone subject to the village manager’s approval and modifications. The village manager can halt music in a venue if it is deemed too loud and if the operator is not in compliance with the sound directives, officials explained.
“Last year went well. We hit an equilibrium with businesses and we will continue to monitor it,” said Recklaus, who explained he has also been meeting regularly with music venues and downtown residents who have previously complained about noise from the alfresco area.
Additionally, the board agreed to have staff prepare an analysis and guidelines for street performers at Arlington Alfresco which has occurred sporadically in recent years.
“As we get more successful, some people have been playing instruments to take advantage of the crowd. We decided let’s see how this goes because it adds to the ambiance,” Recklaus said. “We’re discussing regulations to make sure what’s happening is in good taste and people won’t be amplifying music that would drown out other activities.”
Last year, more than 84% of the businesses, residents and customers surveyed by the village responded they would like to see Arlington Alfresco happen annually, Perkins reported. Sales for restaurants in the zone from June 2021 through September were, collectively, $9.6 million, up 43% over 2019. The outdoor dining venue was introduced n 2020, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, to support local restaurants.
Since then, Arlington Alfresco has become an area destination for outdoor dining, last year starting on March 12 and running through Sept. 2. It will start in May this year, Recklaus said, because weather was too sporadic in March and the costs were excessive after adding two additional months.
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However, like last year, the board authorized continued work with the Special Events Commission, Chamber of Commerce and other stakeholders on the development, costs and operations of a special event at the end of the Arlington Alfresco run in October.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.