When Wayne Jones saw how much it was going to cost to operate his year-round patio, he was hit with sticker shock. 

“We can’t afford that, we’re still 30 per cent down from where we were pre-COVID,” said Jones, owner of Rocky Mountain Icehouse located downtown on Jasper Avenue. 

New fees for city patio licences are coming into effect April 1, following years of restaurants not having to pay anything. Emails obtained by CBC News sent by the city’s patio team say that the new fees are meant to address budget shortfalls.

A spokesperson from the city said the program previously was delivered with no costs to businesses, but that is no longer sustainable.

“With reduced funding as a result of the 2024 Fall Supplemental Operating Budget Adjustment, the city is shifting to a shared-investment model.” 

Starting in April, fees to operate a large year-round patio on a public space will set a business back $6,900 for the year. The fee for large seasonal patios is $3,700.

There is still no fee for small sidewalk patios — ones without railings and where chairs and tables are taken down each day.

Businesses bear the costs for boardwalks and patio structures.

John Williams, with the Sabor and Bodega Restaurant Group, said it’s one more hit on already thin profits for the industry. 

“You have to rely on such perfect conditions in our short patio season to really make enough sales to recoup staffing costs, increased food costs, increased liquor costs, taxes, all those things,” he said.

Williams said his company is big enough to absorb the costs, but he worries about smaller establishments.

The Rocky Mountain Icehouse was one of the first winter patios as part of a city pilot project in 2019. Now, Jones said he’s uncertain about its future — and he wouldn’t be surprised if Edmontonians see fewer patios overall as a result of this change. 

“I think it defeats some of the city’s goals of trying to create a vibrant downtown and a vibrant patio culture, year-round,” Jones said.

The fees are set up so the business and the city share the costs of maintaining patios, according to December emails from the city’s patio team. 

The emails said the fees will only cover a portion of the cost to maintain patios. Costs for seasonal patios are shared equally between the city and the business, while the city takes on 70 per cent of costs for year-round patios. 

The city estimates the full cost of maintaining a year-round patio to be upward of $20,000, including labour and material costs to install concrete barriers, flexposts and signs.

Both Williams and Jones feel those estimates don’t add up.

“I’m just not sure where these numbers are coming from. So I’d like to see the math on that,” Williams said.

“It’s obscene the amount of money they were asking for,” Jones added. 

Jones said his staff set up the patio, shovel it and tear it down for annual street cleaning. He said he’s not really sure what services the fee is paying for.

Williams said the City of Calgary waived patio permit fees for 2026, so they can operate the patio for their Calgary location without charge.