A popular Hamilton restaurant hopes to upgrade its alfresco dining options, according to a recent planning application.

While The Spot Restaurant and Bar on Burnaby Street already offers alfresco dining, the restaurant has sought to move the seating from the street to the sidewalk, while creating a “secondary sidewalk” for pedestrians.

Planning documents state: “The proposed dining location will be moved onto the sidewalk and will be accessed from the inside of the restaurant, allowing the restaurateur easy visibility and access to the dining area and a better experience for the customers.

“To achieve this, we propose to replace the central window with a sliding door and build a timber-raised structure to align with the existing interior floor level.”

The dining space would cover the width of the existing sidewalk. However, the application proposes the creation of a secondary sidewalk around the structure for pedestrians.

“The open accessory structure will have operable transparent roman blinds to shield from weather conditions while continuing to give adequate natural light into the main dining room,” he said.

“In addition, a clear plexiglass roof will provide the same amenity.”

The application noted that the developer had consulted the infrastructure committee of the Corporation of Hamilton, which supported the plan.

The restaurant was first opened by entrepreneur Arthur Foote in 1945. Thomas “Ted” Powell took over ownership of The Spot in 1971.

He closed the restaurant when the Covid-19 pandemic began to impact Bermuda. However, it reopened in 2021 under the ownership of Ronnie Lau and Kayalvizhi Srinivasan.