Riga's terrace season expands with permanent winter rules

Riga's bars and restaurants embrace year-round terrace season with new ease

Bars and restaurants in Rīga are preparing for the terrace season - some are building them from scratch, while others are restoring previously built ones after the winter. The decision that terraces do not have to be dismantled during the winter season was made back in 2020 and extended every year, but since last year, this arrangement has become permanent.

Latvian Radio asked Karīna, the owner of a bar in Old Rīga, how business owners themselves view this opportunity. She said: "10 out of 10. Because I would definitely have to take down the terrace. That means paying people for it, paying taxes, moving the terrace to a garage, and paying for the garage. But now I can keep it for free."

Karīna also revealed how much it previously cost to dismantle the terrace and store it during the winter, as well as to rebuild it: "I'd say around 1,000 to 1,500 [euros], depending on the garage rental price. To set it up, you have to pay the workers and rent a van. I'd say it would be 1,000 euros to restore it all, oil it, screw it together, level it, bring it over, assemble it... Yes, around 1,000 euros."

Terraces significantly increase the service capacity of bars and restaurants, as well as their revenue, especially in the summer, noted Andris Kalniņš, chair of the Latvian Hotel and Restaurant Association.

"When the weather is very good, [revenue] definitely goes up by at least 50%. Because people want to go outside and sit, and even as they walk by, they can see that the terrace is open, so they sit down and use these services. During the summer season, this is a very significant part of revenue," said Kalniņš.

The approval of a terrace itself is a free service. However, the fee that a business owner pays for street vending varies depending on both the type of terrace and the location.

For example, if a business wants to set up only tables and chairs without constructing a floor or walls, the fee in Old Town is four euros per day, in the historic centre two euros per day, and outside the protected area, one euro per day. If it is a full-scale terrace, the fee depends on its size: in the Old Town, it is 34 cents per square metre per day, in the historic centre, 26 cents, and outside of it, 17 cents per square metre per day.

By allowing bars and restaurants to keep their terraces open during the winter season, the Rīga City Council has also imposed certain obligations on them, such as clearing snow from the terraces, keeping them clean, and not using the terraces as storage areas. Admittedly, during the winter, it was evident that not everyone had complied with these requirements; in some cases, terraces with tables and chairs remained buried under snow all winter.

Andris Lišmanis, head of the Riga City Council's Commercial Activities Coordination Department, said: "The main penalty provided for is that the business owner would be required to dismantle the terrace. During our inspection, we also identified several such cases. We ordered these terraces to be cleaned up and tidied. At least at that point in time, when we received photos and conducted inspections, we saw that they had been tidied up. There were also cafes that subsequently became somewhat untidy again, and in those cases, we asked them to clean up again. But there were no instances this winter where we would have ordered them to be dismantled."

There were also no instances this winter where fines would have been imposed on businesses.

Meanwhile, public opinion on whether allowing terraces to remain up during the winter season is a good idea is divided. Some people encountered in Old Riga told Latvian Radio that this is very good, as the weather can be pleasant in winter, making it enjoyable to be outdoors. Others, however, pointed out that terraces obstruct cars and should be dismantled in winter. Similarly, some people interviewed said they simply don't care about this issue.

Overall, the number of terraces in Riga shows a slight upward trend each year. Last year, there were 573 terraces operating in the capital, and a similar number is expected this year, according to the Rīga City Council. Currently, approximately 200 applications have been received to obtain permits to serve customers on terraces, and more than 130 permits have already been issued.