Photo by Jay Paul
“Neighbors and our guests have loved the addition of the parklet,” says Yoseph Teklemariam, who co-owns Nile Ethiopian restaurant with his brother, Benyam.
Located at 306 N. 29th St. in Church Hill, Nile is one of five restaurants to receive prefabricated parklets this spring.
Last June, the city and Venture Richmond teamed up to introduce the “Picnic in a Parklet” program, which was designed to help restaurants offer safe outdoor seating in response to pandemic restrictions. A year later, the first parklets are popping up around Richmond.
“We are extremely grateful it came to fruition just as the weather was warming up,” says Teklemariam, adding that Venture Richmond provided architects to work with Nile and design a blueprint for the layout of the parklet, while local furniture retailer LaDiff donated bistro tables and chairs.
The three-table parklet is adorned with plants, flowers and two trees that Teklemariam says the Nile team added themselves. “We get a lot of out-of-town guests, so for them, they were just eating in [their] cars, and this gives them a space to eat outside,” he says. “We’ve also been educating people about [the parklet] and encouraging people to use it when we’re closed.”
See more photos taken around Richmond at instagram.com/richmondmag.
