Pasadena Restaurants Losing Outdoor Dining To Rose Parade

PASADENA (CBSLA) - For months, restaurants along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena have battled the detrimental monetary effects of the COVID-19 pandemic with outdoor dining.

Come Tuesday, many of those restaurants will lose that outdoor dining for almost three weeks, due to the return of Pasadena's biggest event - The Rose Parade.

City crews will remove the traffic barriers starting on Wednesday as they begin to prepare for the parade, set to take place on New Year's Day for the 133rd time.

While these moves may make an effect on the immediate day-to-day of restaurant owners in Pasadena, they understand that it comes with the territory.

"It's gonna hurt the business, but you know what, it's something they do every year. Last year we didn't have a Rose Parade, "Juan Anaya, owner of Anaya's Restuarant said. "We need to support whatever decisions they make, especially the city of Pasadena. They help us a lot with this... thanks to this patio, we survived during the worst part of the year - last year and this year too."

Nikos Baltas, manager of Mi Piace, echoed that statement, "As I said this parade is very crucial to the city and they need the room. So, we'll do what needs to be done and we'll move on and everybody's gonna be happy I think."

Business should return to what has become normal for these owners as soon as January 6, when city crews will replace the traffic barriers, giving restaurants a chance to bounce back from the temporary setback - something they've grown accustomed to over the last couple of years.

Sidewalk dining is set to resume even earlier on January 2, once the Rose Parade is officially over.

The Rose Parade was forced to cancel for just the fourth time since its inception in 1890 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year's parade, along with new safety regulations, will look much different from years past.