How many restaurants in downtown Tiburon have a table on the public sidewalk? The town's own count is seven. Six held temporary Outdoor Activities Agreements that were approved during the COVID-19 pandemic. The seventh, Petite Left Bank at 1696 Tiburon Boulevard, had sidewalk dining written into its conditional use permit.
The Tiburon Town Council spent 2026 turning that arrangement into a permanent sidewalk-dining program. In the same months, two of those seven places closed. With a list this short, every loss leaves a visible gap on the street, and the businesses still holding a permit make up most of downtown's outdoor dining.
The Seven Names on the Town's List
The June 17, 2026 staff report to the Town Council lists the businesses that held sidewalk-dining permission when the program was drafted:
- Waypoint Pizza
- Squalo Vino
- The Caviar Company, at 46A Main Street, which closed its tasting room after service on October 18
- Salt and Pepper, at 38 Main Street
- Luna Blu
- Caffe Acri
- Petite Left Bank, at 1696 Tiburon Boulevard on the corner of Juanita Lane, which closed June 22
These seven are mostly small rooms. The sidewalk tables are often the part of each one that people see from the street, which is why the program's rules matter even to residents who have never thought about a permit.
How a Pandemic Stopgap Turned Into a Permit
The six original agreements were always meant to be temporary. According to the town staff report, they were set to expire when repealed or when the COVID-19 state of emergency ended. They gave the restaurants no vested right to keep the tables and required everything to be removed once they expired. The council extended them twice after the emergency ended, and they have since lapsed.
The first attempt at a permanent program stalled. The Marin Independent Journal reported that in 2024 the council rejected a sidewalk-dining ordinance recommended by the Planning Commission and formed a subcommittee instead. That subcommittee's work came back this year.
On June 17, the council voted unanimously to establish the program and 4-1 to approve its fee schedule, with Councilmember Alice Fredericks opposed, according to the Independent Journal. The approved fees are $765 for a business permit and $180 for the yearly renewal. The council also waived the initial permit fee for the six businesses that had operated under the temporary agreements.
A fee that appeared in earlier drafts is not part of the program. An annual right-of-way rent of $10 per square foot was removed from the draft after a May 4 subcommittee meeting, according to the staff report, which describes it only as something the council might consider later.
The town's stated reason for formalizing the tables was safety and access, and fees were a secondary concern. Shari Meads, the town's community development director, told the council that since 2024 the town had received a notice, copied to the Department of Justice, saying it was not in compliance with certain ADA requirements. "That's one of the reasons behind this permit too, is to have a plan for how these areas can be safe for everyone," she said, as quoted by the Marin Independent Journal. The ordinance requires clear travel paths along the sidewalks next to each dining area.
Here is what the program covers, based on the draft materials in the June 17 staff report:
- Where: sidewalks in the public right-of-way in the Main Street and Mixed Use zoning districts
- How much space: generally limited to each restaurant's own frontage, with shared areas considered case by case
- Which permits: a single sidewalk-dining permit replaces an encroachment permit and certain other permits
- What stays separate: dining on private property is still handled through conditional use permits
- Timing for existing tables: under the transition section of the draft ordinance in the August 5 council packet, operators with existing sidewalk dining may keep running it for up to 90 days after the ordinance takes effect, provided they file a complete application within 30 days
The June vote was a first reading. The August 5 staff report placed the second reading on the consent calendar, and the draft ordinance takes effect 30 days after adoption. The Ark had expected an effective date of September 4 if the timeline held.
The Year Two of the Seven Closed
Neither closure was announced as a result of the program, and the reasons that have been reported come from elsewhere.
Petite Left Bank closed on June 22. The Ark reported that its parent company closed all seven of its Bay Area restaurants at once. In October 2021, The Ark had reported the brand's plans for the corner at Juanita Lane.
The Caviar Co. closed its tasting room at 46A Main Street after service on October 18, ending more than five years on lower Main Street. Its last weekend included hot dogs and other treats as a thank-you, and the company said local delivery and online orders through thecaviarco.com would continue, according to The Ark.
Earlier in the year the company had argued for the outdoor tables. In an April 10 public comment to the council, it questioned the fee proposal of that time and wrote that outdoor dining supported the visitor experience and business health of Lower Main Street. That letter responded to the earlier draft, including the per-square-foot rent that was later removed. The letter is on record as one business's view of the proposal.
No new tenant has been announced for 46A Main Street or 1696 Tiburon Boulevard.
Thirty-Eight Main Street, Since 2010
The restaurant at the other end of this year's story has been on Main Street for sixteen years. In September, The Ark reported that Salt & Pepper is the Tiburon Peninsula Chamber of Commerce's 2026 Business of the Year, the first time the 38 Main Street restaurant has won it. Owner Paulino Monterroso has run Salt & Pepper since 2010. He started in town in 1992 as a dishwasher at the former New Morning Cafe.
"It's an honor to receive this recognition, which is well deserved by all the other businesses," Monterroso told The Ark. Bank of Marin's Spirit of Marin Awards honored the restaurant at a September 17 luncheon in San Rafael, and the Chamber will present its award at its annual celebration on November 17.
Salt & Pepper and Luna Blu had already secured outdoor seating beyond the sidewalk. In 2024, The Ark reported that both won permanent approval for expanded dining on adjoining private property, with seating for 28 at Luna Blu and 25 in Salt & Pepper's expanded area. Those seats come under private-property approvals, not the new sidewalk program. Luna Blu, which co-owner Crystal Azzarello told the Marin Independent Journal opened in 2013, got national attention in August from a visit by America's Best Restaurants Roadshow.
Two of the longest-running places on the list had already made their outdoor seating permanent before the town's ordinance did the same for the sidewalk. In that sense, the program catches the public right-of-way up to arrangements some of these restaurants had already secured on their own property.
What Main Street Added This Year
Main Street also gained new businesses this year. In June, The Ark reported that F.L. Woods, a maritime clothing shop, had opened at 21A Main Street as the brand's first West Coast outpost. That puts a nautical retailer a few doors from the restaurants on the town's permit list.
The next event on the town calendar is down the boulevard. The Town of Tiburon has confirmed Diwali by the Bay for Saturday, November 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at Zelinsky Park, 1505 Tiburon Boulevard, with free admission. Ten days later, on November 17, the Chamber's awards celebration honors Salt & Pepper.
Five names remain on the town's sidewalk-dining list: Waypoint Pizza, Squalo Vino, Salt and Pepper, Luna Blu and Caffe Acri, plus two empty storefronts at 46A Main Street and 1696 Tiburon Boulevard.
This post is general information drawn from public town documents, not legal advice, and business owners should confirm permit requirements directly with the Town of Tiburon.
If you're a Tiburon homeowner wondering how changes like these on Main Street fit into your own plans for the house, I'm happy to talk them through over coffee downtown. Julia Camajani is always glad to connect.
