Tuscaloosa, AL Special Events & Permits: Sidewalk Dining & Cafés (2026)

Sec. 21-28, most recently amended by Ord. No. 9723 in December 2025, defines a sidewalk cafe as tables, chairs, and associated furnishings placed on the public sidewalk or right-of-way as an incidental extension of an adjacent food-and-drink business. Applications go to the revenue division of the accounting and finance department and must show the business owner, the exact number of tables and chairs, and a scaled diagram of the layout including bollards, trees, and other fixtures; a nonrefundable $150 processing fee is due at submission, on top of the annual permit fee set in the NAICS fee table at Sec.

7-18 and adjusted each year to the CPI. The permit expires every December 31 regardless of issue date and must be renewed annually. Physically, the cafe area cannot extend past the business's own front or side wall, must leave a minimum six feet of unobstructed sidewalk for pedestrian traffic between the barrier and the curb, and must be separated from the rest of the sidewalk by an approved bollard-and-chain divider or other barrier. Operators must pressure-wash quarterly and clear trash within 100 feet at the close of each business day; failure to clean can suspend the permit, and broken glass can trigger a plastic-only restriction.

Alcohol may be served within the barrier if the operator separately holds an ABC license covering that area, but glass alcohol containers other than wine bottles are banned there, and the fire marshal or police chief can suspend or relocate a cafe at any time for public health or safety reasons. As of the 2025 amendment, no new sidewalk cafe permit may issue to an establishment classified as a bar, club, restaurant serving primarily as a bar, or private event space.