A popular north side restaurant will be allowed to expand, despite a controversy surrounding customer parking.
Bonobo’s Foods manager Morgan Zimmer is pleased with City Council’s decision, which instructs Bonobo’s to ensure they have eight parking spots for customers.
“I feel like the customers made the best choice for the community,” Madigan says, “Bonobo’s as a whole as a business is so excited to keep on going on, and we are going to clear up as many parking issues as we can.”
The establishment was asking the city to be officially zoned as a restaurant, allowing them to seat up to 30 people.
Neighbours told Council that customers were routinely blocking driveways and fire hydrants.
Area resident Sheila Madigan claims that right now, Bonobo’s Foods can seat 23 people, but there’s only enough legal parking nearby for 6 cars.
She says that while employee’s vehicles aren’t breaking the city’s parking by-laws, “Customers still park improperly and illegally.”
She claims that people headed to the restaurant leave their cars in “No Parking” areas, park too close to the back lane, or otherwise block it.
Madigan argues that customers make the area unsafe, parking too close to driveways, and sometimes on both sides of driveways, blocking the view for anyone backing out onto the road.
Zimmer says she feels for nearby residents who have safety concerns, emphasizing that the restaurant will work to improve the parking issues in a way that benefits the community. (File Photo)