Downtown bar asks Boiseans to pressure city for ‘emergency patio’: ‘We may not survive’
Water Bear Bar says it’s sinking — and it hopes you’ll urge government officials to throw it a life preserver.
The craft cocktail lounge, which opened last July at 350 N. 9th St. (at the corner of Jefferson Street), issued an online plea for help last week, prior to the Central District Health order that reclosed bars. Water Bear was closed anyway because of coronavirus restrictions, but was selling cocktails and snacks to-go.
“In order to reopen, we need a patio,” Water Bear’s owners wrote on its website and social media.
“We have been working tirelessly and pushing the city as hard as we can in an effort to reopen, but we will not be able to reopen without your help. ... Our limited capacity requirement due to COVID-19 will not allow us to generate the revenue needed to keep the business afloat. We need a patio in order to compensate for the loss of seating inside. We need more than a traditional licensed patio on our sidewalk, because such patio would only accommodate six people. What we need is an ‘emergency patio.’
“Although the city has put amazing efforts into revitalizing downtown, those efforts were focused on 8th Street and did not include us. And although the city is working with us on an emergency patio on Jefferson Street, they are dragging their feet and we are running out of time ... fast.
“We know you all love Water Bear as much as we do, and we are calling on you to help make sure Water Bear will survive the COVID-19 shutdown. If we do not get an emergency variance for a patio immediately, we may not survive. We are asking you to help put pressure on all parties involved, and we have drafted an email template (that can also be used as a script over the phone) and put together a list of contacts ... .”
To accompany the template, Water Bear Bar provided phone numbers and/or email addresses for Boise’s economic development director, the Ada County Highway District, Mayor Lauren McLean, City Council members and the Downtown Boise Association.
The template tells city and county officials that Water Bear’s operators need the emergency variance “now. Not next week, or in a few weeks, or next year. They will not be able to reopen if they do not have this patio.”
▪ Update: Boise City Council President Pro Tem Holli Woodings responded on Twitter: “We could move quickly on 8th Street because we control it (not Jefferson). I feel for the proprietors of Water Bear and know that @DowntownBoise, @ACHD, @ccdcboise and @CityOfBoise are working hard to expand patios safely in the rest of downtown.”
This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 2:48 PM.