Why Smart Restaurant Owners Are Rethinking Space, Revenue, and Experience—Right Now

What if you could expand your restaurant without expanding your building?

What if serving alcohol outdoors wasn’t a temporary loophole—but a permanent advantage?

And what if parking requirements no longer dictated how much revenue you could generate?

That’s exactly what AB 592 delivers.

As an architect who has spent decades designing restaurants, hospitality spaces, and mixed-use environments, I can confidently say this: AB 592 is one of the most restaurant-friendly pieces of legislation California has passed in years. Yet many owners still don’t fully understand how powerful it is—or how to take advantage of it correctly.

This newsletter is your practical guide.

What Is AB 592 (and Why It Matters)?

AB 592 builds on California’s successful emergency outdoor dining policies introduced during the pandemic and makes many of those allowances permanent. The law removes several long-standing regulatory barriers that historically limited restaurant growth—particularly in dense urban and coastal markets.

In simple terms, AB 592 gives restaurants more flexibility, more seats, and more revenue potential—with fewer structural and zoning headaches.

Let’s break down the three biggest advantages.

1. Easier Creation of Outdoor Dining Spaces—with Open Kitchens

For years, outdoor dining was treated as an exception rather than a legitimate extension of the restaurant. AB 592 flips that thinking entirely.

What Changed

  • Outdoor dining areas are now formally recognized as a core part of restaurant operations
  • Permanent outdoor kitchens and food-prep elements are easier to permit
  • Many projects can move forward without full discretionary review

Why This Is a Big Deal

From an architectural standpoint, this is transformative.

Restaurants can now:

  • Design seamless indoor–outdoor experiences
  • Create open-air kitchens, pizza ovens, grills, and chef stations
  • Turn sidewalks, courtyards, alleys, rooftops, and parking edges into revenue-producing space

Instead of treating outdoor seating as an afterthought, owners can design it as the star of the show—with sightlines to the kitchen, warmth from live fire, and the energy that diners crave.

One thing to note: Every municipality will interpret the new law the same way, and there may be restrictions (like ADA access or fire life/ safety) that still may be limiting on a case-by-case basis. Having been down these roads many times before, we are happy to help you navigate any of these regulations.

As with any food service area, health department approval will also require appropriate measures for sanitation and pest management, particularly for open or outdoor kitchen environments.

Architect Insight:

Open kitchens perform even better outdoors. The sights, sounds, and aromas travel farther, creating a sense of theater that pulls people in from the street. With AB 592, this becomes a design strategy—not a workaround.

2. Outdoor Alcohol Service Is No Longer a Ticking Clock

Before AB 592, many restaurants were operating under a quiet but serious risk:

The ability to serve alcohol outdoors was set to expire in January 2026.

That expiration is now off the table.

What Changed

  • Alcohol service is allowed in approved outdoor dining areas
  • The allowance is no longer tied to emergency orders
  • Outdoor bars, beer gardens, and wine service can be planned long-term

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Alcohol is not just a menu item—it’s a margin driver.

Outdoor alcohol service means:

  • Higher per-guest spend
  • Longer dwell time
  • Better activation of underused square footage
  • Stronger brand identity (think aperitivo culture, wine patios, cocktail courtyards)

From a design perspective, this allows us to:

  • Build purpose-designed outdoor bar stations
  • Integrate lighting, acoustics, and seating for evening service
  • Create environments that feel intentional—not temporary

Architect Insight:

When alcohol service is permanent, we can design for durability, weather protection, lighting quality, and guest flow—rather than temporary furniture and pop-up solutions.

3. Parking Requirements Are Loosened for Outdoor Seating

This is one of the most under-reported benefits of AB 592—and one of the most powerful.

What Changed

  • Outdoor dining areas often do not trigger the same parking requirements as indoor seating
  • In many jurisdictions, existing parking minimums are reduced or waived
  • Cities are encouraged to prioritize walkability, biking, and shared streets

Why This Unlocks Growth

Historically, parking requirements killed countless restaurant ideas before they ever opened. A few extra tables could suddenly require:

  • New parking leases
  • Costly variances
  • Reduced seating elsewhere

AB 592 removes much of that friction.

Restaurants can now:

  • Add outdoor seating without adding parking
  • Convert marginal parking areas into dining
  • Operate more efficiently on smaller footprints

Prior to AB 592, each municipality applied its own methodology for determining how much outdoor seating could be exempt from parking requirements. The new law establishes a more consistent, statewide framework for making those determinations, reducing uncertainty and improving predictability during planning and approval.

Architect Insight:

Parking has long dictated restaurant form. AB 592 lets experience dictate form instead—and that’s how great spaces are born.

Additional Benefits Restaurant Owners Should Know

Beyond the headline advantages, AB 592 also delivers several quieter—but meaningful—improvements:

Streamlined Approvals

Many outdoor dining projects:

  • Avoid full environmental review
  • Qualify for ministerial approval
  • Move faster from concept to construction

More Design Freedom

AB 592 encourages:

  • Creative fencing, planters, and barriers
  • Permanent shade structures and canopies
  • Higher-quality materials over temporary fixes

Long-Term ROI

Because outdoor dining is no longer “temporary,” investments in:

  • Hardscape
  • Lighting
  • Heating
  • Landscaping

…can be amortized over years—not treated as short-term experiments.

What Restaurant Owners Should Do Next

AB 592 is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Every site, city, and concept is different.

But the opportunity is clear.

If you’re a restaurant owner—or planning to become one—now is the moment to:

  • Reevaluate your site through an indoor–outdoor lens
  • Rethink how alcohol service fits into your exterior spaces
  • Explore expansion options that were previously blocked by parking rules

The smartest operators are not asking, “Can we do outdoor dining?”

They’re asking, “How do we design it so it drives brand, revenue, and longevity?”

That’s where thoughtful architecture makes all the difference.

If you are interested in learning more, I look forward to your email to begin a dialogue: sfjones@sfjones.com

About the Author

Stephen Francis Jones, Architect

As in-house architect for the Wolfgang Puck Food Company, Stephen Francis Jones established one of Southern California’s most iconic brands. When he founded his own firm, Puck immediately hired him to help develop the fine dining ambiance at Spago Beverly Hills. That project led to the design of Wolfgang Puck restaurants worldwide—and, most recently, the renovation of the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland, site of the Academy Awards’ Governors Ball. Following the complete renovation of the Century Plaza Hotel, Jones received a steady stream of high-profile commissions. He designed the serenely elegant sushi restaurants Hamasaku and Kumo for Michael Ovitz and Anisette—a classic French brasserie in a landmark Santa Monica tower—for Tommy Stoilkovich, Mike Garrett, and four-star chef Alain Giraud.