Silver Spring Restaurants on Georgia Avenue to Offer Dining in Expanded Outdoor Space as ‘Streetdine’ Starts TODAY, Friday, June 12

For Immediate Release: Friday, June 12, 2020

Many restaurants in Silver Spring's 'restaurant row' along the Fenton Village area of Georgia Avenue will serve patrons at tables in expanded outdoor space starting at 5 p.m. TODAY, Friday, June 12, in an innovative “Streetdine” pilot project to welcome socially distanced dining. The north bound right lanes of Georgia Avenue will be temporarily closed for Streetdine and the parking lane will serve as the primary pedestrian flow to accommodate the expanded seating on the sidewalk. 

Under Phase 1 of the reopening guidelines issued by County Executive Marc Elrich, restaurants and establishments that sell food and beverages for on-site consumption are permitted to serve customers in outdoor seating areas.

Some restaurants will be serving meals to the outdoor tables. Others will have diners order takeout meals and then offer them table space to enjoy those meals.

Georgia Avenue Streetdine is a collaborative program organized by County Council Vice President Tom Hucker, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration, the Montgomery County Department of Transportation (MCDOT), the Silver Spring Regional Services Office and the Silver Spring Urban District. They have been working with and local business owners to ensure a safe outdoor eating environment on Georgia Avenue from Silver Spring Avenue to Thayer Avenue.

The Streetdine setup will encourage socially distanced strolls before selecting a place to dine. In many cases, reservations are encouraged.

In addition to the Georgia Avenue restaurants open for Streetdine, other restaurants in the downtown Silver Spring area will take advantage of the Phase I reopening guidelines to also offer outside dining.

A complete list of Silver Spring restaurants that are open for outside dining and those that are currently open only for pickup and delivery is available at silverspringdowntown.com

The “Shared Streets” initiative of MCDOT is looking at ways to modify existing uses of County-controlled sidewalks, roads, on-street parking and parking lots to provide more space that allows safe, social distanced activity. More information on the initiative is available at montgomerycountymd.gov/DOT/sharedstreets.

For updates, follow @MCDOTNow on Twitter, visit the department website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot, subscribe to MCDOT news releases or subscribe to MCDOT’s Go Montgomery! biweekly newsletter. For other transportation updates, visit MCDOT’s transportation resource page for COVID-19.

For the latest Montgomery County updates during the health crisis, visit the County’s COVID-19 website and follow Montgomery County on Facebook @MontgomeryCountyInfo and Twitter @MontgomeryCoMD.

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Media Contact: Hannah Henn 240-777-8389