Minnesotans flock to outdoor patios to enjoy warmer spring temperatures
MINNEAPOLIS -- Nearly three weeks since the official start of spring, it's finally starting to feel like it, and some Minnesotans say they're already feeling a whole lot better.
"I'm feeling great," Sophie Peterson of Minneapolis said. "I'm really excited for summer to come and this is like a little glimpse of it and it's making me very, very excited to go out in my swimsuit and be able to tan and like get the sun right on my face."
As temperatures rise, so does the demand for patio service at bars and restaurants.
"Definitely have a lot of very happy customers sitting outside, enjoying the weather and on those really sunny days, we always get so many people just wanting, 'Oh can I sit on the patio? Can I sit on the patio?'" Myles Patterson, who works at Barbette in Minneapolis, said.
"They're just excited," Eugene Liberman, who works at Moscow on the Hill in St. Paul, said. "They've been stuck inside all year round. People are just excited to get some fresh air, have some nice cocktails and nice, excellent food out here. It's great. People look forward to it all year. We've already had a ton of phone calls..."
The rush to enjoy the nice weather is adding a new twist to the lunch and dinner rush.
"...Especially at the beginning," Liberman said. "Absolutely. People come out of the woodwork because they've all been trapped inside for five months and everybody wants a seat."
"...Definitely crazier. A lot crazier cause the servers will be running inside, outside and they all have, like, five more tables," Patterson said. "So it's always very fun. A little hectic sometimes but everyone here can handle it."
Some places take reservations just for patio seating.
Click here for a list of Twin Cities restaurants with patios open.
