COVID-19 News: City of Redwood Falls waives picnic table rental fees for restaurants

The City of Redwood Falls decided Tuesday to waive the rental fee for any restaurants wanting to rent picnic tables — like these seen in Ramsey Park while the outdoor dining restrictions remain in place.

Last month, Governor Tim Walz announced Minnesota restaurants would be allowed to open for outdoor dining on June 1. Shortly after that, several Redwood area restaurants asked the city if it could tweak zoning regulations about expanding their spaces for outdoor dining.

The city agreed, and has allowed the three restaurants that applied — Duffy’s Riverside Saloon, Plaza Garibaldi, and Barney’s Burger & Brew — to tweak their outdoor spaces.

The city council went even further, and voted to drastically lower the cost of renting picnic tables to any restaurants that might want to make use of them. Normally the City of Redwood Falls rents picnic tables for $10 per day with a delivery fee, but for area restaurants the city set $35 for an entire 30 days. The tables themselves cost the city approximately $600-700 apiece to purchase.

Only one Redwood Falls restaurant so far — Subway — has taken the city up on its offer. At Tuesday’s meeting, the council voted to waive all rental fees for restaurants wanting to rent picnic tables, in exchange for a fully-refundable damage deposit.

For more information, contact Redwood Falls City Hall.