Winter Patio Grant

Main page content begins here

The Winter Patio Grant supports restaurants, bars and cafes with creating outdoor patios that are inviting, comfortable and vibrant places for people to gather during the winter season in keeping with the City’s WinterCity Strategy and the Vibrant Streets Program.

Funding Allocation

The City invested a little over $50,000 in the Winter Patio Grant, which provided up to $2,000 per business to spend on eligible winter patio expenses.

For the 2023-24 winter season, the City awarded grants to 27 businesses.

The Winter Patio Grant will not be offered for the 2024-25 winter season.

Grant Criteria

In order to apply for the Winter Patio Grant, businesses:

Must be a restaurant, bar or cafe in the ��ϲ��
Have a current ��ϲ�� business licence
Have all the required permits, declarations and/or licences from the ��ϲ�� to operate a patio, or be exempt from requiring one. For example, Patios on Public Spaces would require an executed year-round License of Occupation

Eligible/Ineligible Expenses

Eligible Expenses

Eligible Winter Patio Grant expenses include:

Patio furniture (for example: chairs, tables, benches)
Heating and warming elements (for example: heaters, fire tables, fire pits). Please refer to what is permitted within your public or private patio
Decorative lighting (for example: string lights, lanterns)
Comforts for customers (for example: blankets, seat cushions, tablecloths)
Programming elements (for example: performing artists, audio equipment, special events)

Ineligible Expenses

Program funding cannot be used for expenses related to:

Patio development, redevelopment or design costs
Permit or licensing fees
Operational funding (for example: rent, mortgages, bills, debt servicing)
Membership or professional association fees
Other business expenses deemed to not contribute to increasing vibrancy of the winter patio

Grant Assessment and Award

Once the application period has closed, applications will be reviewed based on the eligibility criteria
Efforts will be made to award the amounts requested, however the maximum $2,000 is not guaranteed and a lesser amount may be awarded
Please note, other costs may be deemed ineligible at the discretion of the evaluation committee
Applications that do not meet the criteria will not be considered and all decisions made by the City are final

���ϲ���������