Since the COVID-19 pandemic, a portion of Main Street in downtown Huntington Beach has been shut down to traffic.
Businesses needed to adapt to coronavirus restrictions that prohibited indoor dining.
Some businesses transformed parts of the street into patios.
“It was awesome because we couldn’t have anybody come upstairs because it was outdoor dining only and then a lot of the places didn’t have outdoor dining so they had to have that,” said Yolanda Hayes, the general manager of HB Beer Company. “A couple of the restaurants didn’t have any outdoor dining.”
Almost three years later, the city is ready to see Main Street go back to what it was.
On Jan. 17, the Huntington Beach City Council voted to reopen the second block of Main Street.
Businesses have until March 1 to remove their outdoor dining spaces.
“I’m ready for it to open. Have the traffic flow again. Have surf city nights on Tuesday because it was a big street fair, farmer’s market … just kind of bring it back to the roots a little bit,” Hayes said.