More and more cities and towns are starting to 'think outside of the box' in an effort to support the hard hit restaurant business in their communities.
Just up the highway, the city of Hamilton will allow restaurants and cafes to expand their patios this summer onto roadways and in parking lots to allow for social distancing.
Fred Davies with Breakwall Brewery in Port Colborne says he would love to be able to expand his deck, but after a call to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission, he was told it wasn't going to be easy getting the necessary approvals.
Davies says it would be a lengthy approvals process at a substantial cost.
He was told the municipality would have to get involved, the health department, building and fire, all to expand five or ten feet of his deck to keep tables further apart.
Davies says he has written to the province asking that businesses be allowed to find more creative ways to survive without having to jump through a lot of hoops.