With restaurants hoping to survive the COVID-19 pandemic with take-out and delivery until being to open again, the city of Evansville, Indiana worked to let them have more outdoor space for safer dining for customers, including The Acropolis.
The most noticeable result is the large white pavilion on the south side of the restaurant as the city would even allow the use of some public ways, said The Courier-Express, letting The Acropolis set up a tent.
“We worked with Anchor Industries for the tent and it stays pretty cool under there; at least ten degrees cooler than the air outside it,” Acropolis owner Doros Hadjisavva said. “People are really enjoying it at night time."
It wasn’t just a tent on a parking lot, she told the paper. Hadjisavva placed thick interlocking tiles over the asphalt and added statuary, planters and hanging lights so diners may enjoy Greek favorites such as hummus, gyros, flaming cheese saganaki, and moussaka in a space nearly as elegant as the inside of the building.
The Reopen Evansville Task Force made it easier for restaurants to add more seating to parking or landscaped areas as needed.