The popular outdoor sidewalk dining program in downtown Leesburg is set to return for another summer starting next week. The first night will be Friday, May 5 and the program will run through Friday, October 6.
According to an announcement from the city, South King Street — from Market to Loudoun streets —will temporarily close on Fridays to create outdoor dining areas for participating restaurants.
The hours will be from 5 to 9 p.m. The street closure along South King will start around 4:30 p.m. on the designated days and it will reopen by 9:30 p.m.
However, it’s important to note that the sidewalk dining will not take place on May 26, June 30, August 11, or September 29. It will also be cancelled in the event of inclement weather.
This fun annual tradition first got started during the height of the pandemic — July 2020 — when downtown Leesburg restaurants were struggling amidst social distancing guidelines. It was so popular that the city has brought it back each year.
This year, the extended sidewalk dining will only be happening on Fridays due to conflicts with other events in the downtown. By extended, we mean the extra sidewalk space set aside for additional restaurants to use. Restaurants that regularly have sidewalk dining will continue to have that on other nights as usual.
And if — like The Burn — you wondered why they don’t set up more tables in the streets to create even more outside dining — it’s because they need to keep the street available for emergency vehicles. So there you go.
(Image at top: City of Leesburg)