Mayor launches Chicago Alfresco program to spur outdoor dining, offers limited $250,000 grants

Remember when Mayor Lori Lightfoot held a design contest for innovative outdoor dining options, which aimed to allow more people to eat at restaurants struggling with the pandemic and winter weather? Although COVID-19 cases are finally falling, she’s back at it, teaming up with the city’s marketing organization, Choose Chicago, for another outdoor program called Chicago Alfresco. She hopes it will motivate restaurant owners and neighborhood groups to design “creative long-term outdoor spaces.”