Patio season is here! Locals enjoy sunshine in uptown Waterloo

The several days of bright, sunny weather this month has inspired businesses around uptown Waterloo and across the region to open up their patios for the season.

The chance to sip a cold beer surrounded by warm sunshine earlier this week left many like June Lowe feeling excited about the warmer months to come.

"I know all the patios," Lowe said while enjoying her beer and burger in the sun.

She says she's waited six months for patio season to make a comeback. Now that it's here, she's got a game plan to maximize on the warm weather.

"As the season goes on, when it's really hot, then you want a north-facing patio. But at this time of year, you'll freeze in it. Later on in the season you need a little more warmth than in November. I have really struggled to find one that has a good south or southwest exposure."

MJ Al-Hulaibi says she loves sitting out on the patio with her best friend Olivia Rolston, just people-watching while sipping on some tea.

"It's also easier to be off my computer. It's better to be just connected with the weather and be talking and seeing people, hearing the cars, hearing the city," says Al-Hulaibi.

She says they've been enjoying the patios opening up in Uptown Waterloo since the beginning of April.

"It's Summer-loo! All the patios open up and we only sit on the patios."

Great for business

Jeyas Balaskanthan is the executive director of the Uptown Waterloo BIA. He says patio season is a great opportunity for local businesses to continue to bounce back from the losses they may have experienced throughout the pandemic.

"Early patio season means a little bit of the additional revenue which is going to help them in the long run because folks are still paying their loans back."

He says there are a variety of new patios opening up this summer.

"There's many, many choices and depending on what you're looking for, what day you're looking for. A lot of them do different specials, a lot of them have different setups and a lot of them have different diverse menus. " he said.

"It's the place to be for this summer."