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Economy

Al Fresco Dining Is the Restaurant Industry’s Best Hope

To survive coronavirus summer, restaurants are rushing to claim space for outdoor seating. But can sidewalk tables and parking-lot patios provide enough revenue?
A masked server in the outside dining area of a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida, on May 4.
A masked server in the outside dining area of a restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida, on May 4.Zack Wittman/Bloomberg
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Even before its opening, Hold Out Brewing lived up to its name.

The Austin brewpub is the latest project of Matthew Bolick and Matt and Grady Wright, who own a handful of popular bars and cafes in the Texas capital. Their portfolio includes a coffeeshop-slash-drafthouse called Wright Bros. Brew & Brew and the all-day casual-fare Better Half Coffee and Cocktails, whose cauliflower tots helped it earn the restaurant-of-the-year nod from Eater Austin in 2019. Next door to Better Half, in an unmissable quonset dome, is where the owners parked Hold Out Brewing.