Charlottetown council votes to extend patio hours for Victoria Row restaurants

Charlottetown city council has voted in favour of a pilot project to extend hours for Victoria Row patios, allowing them to stay open until 1 a.m. instead of having to shut down at midnight.

The resolution passed by a 6-0 vote at a special council meeting on Tuesday, with the project slated for reassessment at the end of this summer or in early 2026.

That move reflects the fact that the entire city's patio bylaw is due to be re-evaluated within the year, with public consultation involved.

"Give those folks on Victoria Row an opportunity to recoup some of their losses that they may feel they've suffered with all the renovations happening," deputy mayor Alanna Jankov asked her colleagues at Tuesday's meeting.

"If we're going to pilot it any time, this would be a great year to do it."

The Confederation Centre of the Arts is undergoing a major renovation across from the restaurants on Victoria Row. 

Doug McKinney and Rachel Sauvé, the co-owners of the Cork and Cast restaurant, said the later patio hours will be good for their restaurant.

"I think it's great. It will give us a little boost for our little street, especially in the summertime when the weather gets nice," McKinney said.

"Giving us that extra time to offer tourists and different people visiting our city food offerings and drink offerings... I think is a positive thing." 

He said the tourism season on P.E.I. is short, so later hours during the warmest months are welcome: "The summer goes by very fast… eight weeks, pretty well."

Sauvé said businesses on Victoria Row will benefit even more when Charlottetown Festival performances really gear up for the summer at the Confederation Centre of the Arts.

"The shows get out later... and the street's back and thriving and we'll just love to be open for longer hours."

Jeff Sinnott is the co-owner of Red Island Hospitality Group, which owns the John Brown Richmond Street Grille on Victoria Row. He said the later closing time will really help.

"Every minute counts. An extra hour... it's quite a help," he said. "P.E.I.'s summer is short. We have nine, 10 months to be inside, so people really want to be outside."