Chicago is offering a $5000 cash prize to residents who devise innovative solutions to make outdoor dining feasible during the frigid winter months. Due to the ongoing pandemic, outdoor dining has become critically important for restaurants striving to stay operational while minimizing the spread of the novel coronavirus. However, Chicago is notorious for its brutal winters, with January lows averaging 17°F (-8.3°C) and daily highs that often struggle to reach freezing. The lowest recorded temperature in the city was a chilling -27°F (-32.8°C), with an average of 28 snowy days each year. Even Chicago’s mayor, Lori Lightfoot, has acknowledged the city’s winter reputation.
Lightfoot announced the Winter Dining Challenge on Twitter, stating the prize will be awarded to three Chicago residents who submit entries adhering to the city’s COVID-19 guidelines. Each submission must include a prototype and feasibility research. The challenge encompasses three categories: Outdoor Ideas (located on patios, sidewalks, and parking lots), Indoor-Adjacent Ideas (situated right next to indoor spaces), and Cultural Change, which seeks to enhance the appeal of outdoor dining during the colder months.
According to the official Winter Dining Challenge website, “Takeout and delivery will remain options, but they often do not provide sufficient revenue to keep these places in business. Consequently, designing ways to attract customers to visit their neighborhood restaurants and dine on-site is the priority for this design challenge.”
More than 360 creative ideas have already been submitted, including innovative solutions such as igloos, greenhouses, geodesic dome bubbles, yurts, and even a labyrinth constructed from wind-blocking hedgerows.
The deadline for submissions is 11:30 PM on September 7. Residents can submit their innovative ideas online through the OpenIDEO website, where a panel of judges—including local restaurant chefs, food writers, and the president of the Illinois Restaurant Association—will evaluate the entries.
