ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Restaurants in downtown St. Petersburg utilizing their parking spots for table service will now have to obtain a temporary use permit by Friday. 

The seating that extends through sidewalks and into parking spaces at several restaurants in the city have become popular over the last year and were permissible under the local state of emergency. 

The state of emergency for the City of St. Pete expires on Thursday and with it the ability for restaurants to have tables in the street. The city has been working throughout the week to find a way for restaurants to keep their seating arraignments despite Gov. Ron DeSantis’ order to suspend local COVID-19 emergency restrictions. 

“We had no heads up that the governor was coming to town to enter the orders that he did. So we really were trying to scramble to see what we needed to do,” St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman explained. 

City staff decided that temporary use permits were the best option for restaurants to keep their extended seating. 

“Catering to the pedestrians works better for this Central Avenue vibe than any parking spaces could do to benefit the city,” said Terry Moberly with Five Bucks Drinkery. 

At Five Bucks, Moberly says they only have 7 tables inside, so the extended outdoor seating has been crucial for them. 

“It was a blessing for us to keep paying the bills,” he said. 

Kriseman says the city is considering making the parking space seating permanent but doing so would mean a change to city code. That would have to happen through a city council vote which wouldn’t take place until August or September.