Am I dreaming, hallucinating, in some sort of weird Pandemic trance?

Wide-open Long Beach, a city deservedly infamous for its anti-business litany of nitpicking regulatory ordinances, a city with Kathy Colopy's notorious Health Department becoming so excessively obsessed with carrying out Generalissimo Gavin Newsom's cold-hearted edicts that it actually has its Ministry of Security employ snitches and other such dark means so reminiscent of the old Communist East German secret police Stasi?

But, incredibly, it is real, it is actually happening, it is a city-wide transformation that has proven to be quite a boon to so many long-beleaguered local restaurateurs who have had to endure the Covid-19 shutdown whims of Mr. Newsom.

Yes, those contraptions known as Parklets -- which have resulted in the extension of sidewalks into parking places and even into Long Beach's precious bicycle lanes -- have proven to be wildly popular among the citizenry that has been swarming these European-style outlets that can be found in front of 23 restaurants alone in Belmont Shore, another six in Naples and countless others in Bixby Knolls and the downtown area.

Photos above: Parklet adjoining Aroma Di Roma 4708 E. 2nd St.. Photos by Mr. Krikorian

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Photos above: Parklet adjoining Nico's Restaurant 5760 E 2nd St. Photos by Mr. Krikorian

And -- yes, I never thought I'd live to write the following six words: Three Cheers for Long Beach politicians.

Without their cooperation, especially the Mayor, Robert Garcia, and the City Council with a special shutout to Third District Councilwoman Suzi Price and her esteemed assistant, Lisa West, this implausible phenomenon never would have happened.

They got together and cut out all the bureaucratic intrusions that long have stifled so many business endeavors and entrepreneurship in Long Beach.

And in a short while city workers were seen sticking those orange k-rails in front of myriad establishments throughout the city and soon many were festooned with wooden fences, overhead canopies, hanging lights, colorful flower pots and various festive decorations.

"We've been thrown a life line," says Ryan Hoover, owner of the Irish pub, K.C. Branaghan's. "No way for a lot of guys in our business to keep the doors open if it weren't for the Parklets. And it's totally changed the dynamics of the business."

Hoover's sentiments are echoed by George Mlouk, proprietor of the 24-year Naples fixture, Nico's.

"A lot of restaurants wouldn't have made it back if it weren't for the Parklets," says Mr. Mlouk. "We in the restaurant business have been beat up pretty badly the past few months. I honestly believe this is all a political football -- and sadly they (the politicians) are playing with people's lives.

"I just don't understand how the governor came to the conclusion that restaurants were responsible for the uptake of Covid-19 in California. We did everything right -- the social distancing, the masks, everything. Yet we can't serve food inside. Makes no sense. But at least we're doing well outside."

Another gentleman who has benefited from the Parklets concept is Denny Lund, whose Marina Pacifica restaurant, Tantalum, has tables now fronting Alamitos Bay.

"What I now find so ironic is that for 15 years I told people not to take their drinks with them when they go outside," he says. "And now I tell them not to take their drinks with them when they go inside to the restroom.

"Obviously, I'm glad that we're still able to serve food and drinks. At least it's keeping us paying the bills. We're now about at 35 percent of what we once made, but at least I know my customers are enjoying the experience."

At least one gentleman, Mike O'Toole, the Naples Gondola Getaway operator, certainly did recently.

"I've skippered a lot of boats all over the world," says Mr. O'Toole, who in his younger days shuttled tourists around the Caribbean countries and also once sailed with a friend from Honolulu to Redondo Beach. "But never have I taken a boat up to a dock like I did the other evening at Tantalum, stepped out and sat at a table that was right in front of it and had dinner with my wife. That's a first in my life."

While the Long Beach politicians have emphasized the Parklets are only temporary and are due to expire in November, would they dare take them away now in the wake of their overwhelming popularity?

"No doubt these Parklets will change the expectations people will have from now on in open-air dining," says Ryan Hoover. "I just know for sure they're responsible for a lot of restaurants still being able to operate..."

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