The Zionsville Chamber of Commerce will again hold monthly Night on the Bricks events this spring and summer to help local businesses and restaurants.
“People loved it last year,” said Allyson Gutwein, the chamber’s executive director. “And we had so many people (interested) in street dining. Why not allow those restaurants to not only allow people inside but have more people who want to be outside dining?”
Night on the Bricks will return May 6, June 3, July 1, Aug. 12 and Sept. 2. The event will start at 5 p.m. and end at 9 p.m. each date.
Residents will be encouraged to order carryout meals from local restaurants and visit nearby businesses. Food and drinks from home will not be allowed. Tables will be pre-set on Main Street, but attendees must bring their own chairs and will be required to wear face coverings when not eating, Gutwein said.
“We want to make sure people really understand this is to help our restaurants,” Gutwein said. “The idea is we buy food and beverages from our restaurants. Whenever it comes to sitting down and dining at a restaurant, you have a couple factors that come down to why reduced capacity makes it really difficult. One, there just aren’t as many people (and) two, some people just don’t feel comfortable coming in and sitting in a restaurant, so if they even choose to carry out, you maybe don’t have alcohol (sales) added on to that.”
Gutwein said increased carryout orders have added costs for restaurants for additional items such as plastic utensils and plates.
“A margin they used to have has shrunk based on the fact that they have reduced capacity, smaller ticket sizes and increased packaging costs,” Gutwein said. “We want to be as supportive as we can, and if that means bringing more people to their door to make sure they have greater volume flowing through their cash registers, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
