{"id":963,"date":"2025-08-20T21:00:21","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T21:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/?p=963"},"modified":"2025-08-21T14:24:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-21T14:24:42","slug":"quality-italian-restaurant-in-cherry-creek-has-street-level-patio-vetoed-by-denver-city-council","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.agencywebdesigners.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/20\/quality-italian-restaurant-in-cherry-creek-has-street-level-patio-vetoed-by-denver-city-council\/","title":{"rendered":"Quality Italian restaurant in Cherry Creek has street-level patio vetoed by Denver City Council"},"content":{"rendered":"

A patio on the street in front of Quality Italian? Fuhgeddaboudit!<\/p>\n

The Cherry Creek restaurant won\u2019t be getting additional outdoor seating after the Denver City Council voted 10-3 Monday afternoon against giving the eatery the necessary permit.<\/p>\n

Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, who represents the neighborhood, said her \u201cno\u201d vote represented her constituents, citing hundreds of signatures submitted against the patio.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I say that the community is angry, they have every right to be angry about this,\u201d Sawyer said at the meeting.<\/p>\n

The discussion about the hypothetical future patio, which would have replaced parking spaces, was primarily about a previous patio.<\/p>\n

Quality Italian had tables below the curb for years upon the onset of the pandemic, when Denver allowed restaurants around the city to take over parking areas on short notice in an effort to help the industry. The patio has since been taken down, and what was once a Denver pilot program for \u201cTier III encroachment\u201d into city right of way is now a permanent offering.<\/p>\n

But restaurants need a permit. And neighbors in Cherry Creek have not forgotten Quality Italian\u2019s COVID-era patio.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a community safety issue, right? Cars were running into it, people were running into it, it was wild,\u201d Sawyer said.<\/p>\n

The restaurant at 241 Columbine St. sits within the Halcyon hotel. Sawyer noted that the other side of the street has diagonal parking spaces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese diagonal parkers are backing up into this patio,\u201d she said. \u201cIt has happened over and over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lou Raders, a leader with the Cherry Creek North Neighborhood Association, described a hectic block. People exiting the diagonal spots often walk directly across the street, rather than going to the corners to cross, she said. A post office next to the Halcyon attracts those in a rush. Access to a condo building\u2019s parking is sometimes blocked. And parents come to pick up kids at Bromwell Elementary, which is just to the north.<\/p>\n