Downtown Frankfort is set to expand its outdoor dining options after the Village Board on Monday approved plans for new patios at two adjacent businesses, The Loft and Grounded Coffee Bar. In a significant move to support the establishments, trustees also unanimously voted to waive all off-street parking requirements for both properties.

The approvals, which were handled in separate votes for each business, grant special use permits for outdoor seating and parking variances for the properties located at 15 and 19 Ash Street in the H-1 Historic District.

The Loft, located at 15 Ash Street, received approval to install an approximately 1,000-square-foot dining patio on the north side of the Old Frankfort Mall building. With this addition, the business’s total required parking spaces under the village zoning ordinance would have been 119. The board, however, voted to grant a variance, reducing the requirement to zero.

Similarly, Grounded Coffee Bar at 19 Ash Street was granted a permit for a 725-square-foot patio. The board also approved a variance reducing its 20 required parking spaces to zero.

Both proposals had previously received a 4-1 recommendation for approval from the Plan Commission.

While board members did not comment on the items during the meeting, Mayor Keith Ogle addressed the proposal for The Loft. He acknowledged the business’s cooperation in removing a previously non-compliant banner and confirmed that a once-approved plan for a three-story mixed-use building addition at the site is no longer moving forward.

Given the property’s visibility, Ogle stressed the need to maintain a high standard of appearance. “It’s one of our premier corners, it’s right in the heart of the downtown, so the appearance is important to me,” he said. “I saw that [they] did paint some things, but I would like to see an application for a compliant building sign to be submitted.”

The special use permit for The Loft’s patio includes two conditions: the business must provide an adequate number of ADA-accessible restrooms as approved by the Building Services Department, and the outdoor seating area must close by 10 p.m.

The decisions to waive parking requirements align with a village ordinance provision for the historic district, which acknowledges that providing on-site parking can be impractical for downtown businesses and allows for such variations.