Fencing requirement stalls outdoor eating at Lombard cafe

Two tables and four chairs.

That’s all chef Ben Mchabcheb wants to add to the front of his Lombard restaurant, La France Cafe & Crepes.

“I like to give the place a look that is representative of the cafes in Europe,” he said.

But he’s discovering it’s not as easy as plopping a few pieces of furniture down outside. His quest to add a quaint, European-style seating area included a trip to Lombard’s plan commission in March and village board approval.

And while the board granted the needed permissions Thursday night, Mchabcheb said Friday costs of meeting a condition of approval may prevent him from installing the tables and chairs after all.

Mchabcheb’s cafe at 939 S. Main St. sits in a neighborhood shopping district, the only one of Lombard’s seven commercial zoning designations that doesn’t allow outdoor service areas as a conditional use — until the village board made them permissible Thursday night.

The change allows village staff to evaluate each site before deciding if outdoor uses would be appropriate, Bill Heniff, Lombard’s community development director, said.

The board gave specific approval to Mchabcheb’s planned seating area with a few conditions — that he convert two parking spaces into one handicapped space, put parking stops in the spaces closest to the dining area and enclose a garbage bin behind the restaurant with a fence.

The cost of fencing in the garbage bin probably will cancel the outdoor seating project, Mchabcheb said. He estimates the fencing could cost between $1,200 and $1,500, an amount he said would take a few years to regain from extra profits generated by the proposed outdoor seating.

“It may not be doable,” he said. “If it becomes a must, then I would not put the tables outside.”

Mchabcheb said he understands the need to gain permission instead of ignoring zoning ordinances, but the garbage bin is nowhere near the seating area and he shouldn’t have to enclose it.

“What I want to know is why? What’s the advantage of putting a fence?” Mchabcheb said. “I don’t think there’s any relation. ... And since there’s no relation between them, I cannot spend the money.”