Center City Philadelphia

Contact Information:
RJ White, Manager of Media Relations & Interactive Marketing
rwhite@centercityphila.org
215.440.5550

Download Center City Reports: Sidewalk Cafes | 4 pgs | PDF (576 KB)

Ten Years and Center City Sidewalk Cafes are Still Going Strong

(August 10, 2010) – For a decade, the Center City District (CCD) has surveyed the sidewalk cafes of Center City, keeping track of an ever-increasing number of outdoor dining options for a thriving downtown. In this tenth year, the CCD counted a total of 248 outdoor spots, suggesting that sidewalk cafes in Center City are recession-proof, with the number of seats expanding by 8% in the last two years and the total number of cafes growing 209% since 2001.

Up until last year, only the area between Pine and Vine streets, from the Delaware River to 22nd Street, including Center City and Old City, was surveyed. In 2010, this yielded 213 outdoor cafes. But in the last two years, the survey boundary was extended to include South Street, adding 35 cafes to the count in 2010. In total, surveyors found 3,556 seats available for residents, visitors and workers to sit back, enjoy food or a drink and watch the city pass them by.

The area east of Broad once again had the highest number of outdoor cafes, with 72. The number of seats per establishment was greatest in the West Market section of the survey area, where outdoor cafes do a brisk business catering to office workers at lunchtime.

Fifteen years ago, outdoor cafes were not permitted in Center City until Mayor Ed Rendell legalized them by executive order. Since then, they’ve become a hallmark of the downtown Philadelphia experience, engendering a sense of urban vitality, generating greater foot traffic for business and providing safety benefits that only additional life on the street can provide.

The survey was conducted on randomly selected afternoons and evenings between July 12 and 23 on the sidewalks between Vine and South streets and between Front and 24th streets. In order to be counted, outdoor seating had to be visible from the sidewalk (for example, a courtyard behind a wall in a private garden would not be counted), on ground level and accompanied by a table.

The CCD’s 2010 Center City Reports: Sidewalk Cafes publication may be downloaded in PDF format at www.CenterCityPhila.org.

The Center City District, a private-sector organization dedicated to making Center City Philadelphia clean, safe and attractive, is committed to maintaining Center City’s competitive edge as a regional employment center, a quality place to live, and a premier regional destination for dining, shopping and cultural attractions.

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