Roadside Dining in Subang Jaya

Restaurant Owners Advised to Apply for Permits from MBSJ before Placing Tables and Chairs outside their Premises

ROADSIDE dining is becoming popular in Subang Jaya these days. Many diners opt to sit out in the open instead of sitting indoors. With the sweltering weather we have been having, this is understandable especially more so post-pandemic.

Many food outlets and restaurant owners, especially those which are operating in the night or 24-hours have cashed in on this new trend and we are starting to see more establishments setting up tables and chairs outside their premises for diners to enjoy the outdoors.

According to the Subang Jaya City Council, as many as 354 permits had been issued this year for outlets operating across the city with 110 permits for the Subang Jaya/USJ area; 106 permits for Kinrara; 90 permits for Puchong and 48 permits for Seri Kembangan.

Strict conditions are attached to the permits which are issued on an annual basis for those who had applied and successfully obtained it. Operators can apply for temporary permits to place tables and chairs outside their premises in three time slots – 6pm-12am; 6pm-6am or 6am-6pm (including over public holidays). Owners of 24-hour outlets can apply for all three slots on condition their premises obtains a “Grade A” listing from MBSJ.

Many conditions are laid down by MBSJ on business operators who want to jump on the bandwagon and offer alfresco dining for their customers. Some of these conditions include taking up public liability insurance; maintaining the cleanliness of the area used and ensuring that the tables and chairs do not obstruct vehicular traffic flow in the area. One other critical prerequisite is for barricades to buffers patrons from passing traffic.

Eatery owners will also have to obtain written permission from adjoining premises. Besides that, tables and chairs can only be placed not more than 50m from the premises while for shops in apartment lots, they can only be placed directly in front of the premises.

For any structural additions like awnings over the alfresco dining area, owners will need to obtain the necessary approval from MBSJ’s Building Department before the permits for tables and chairs can be obtained.

As a patron, you may ask why is there so much red-tape before an outlet is allowed to offer alfresco dining? We have also noticed several outlets in USJ being raided by MBSJ’s enforcement team; resulting in the confiscation of tables and chairs while compounds are issued to the outlet owner.

Notably, as a patron, we may not be too bothered by the requirements imposed on outlet owners. We just want to have our meal and enjoy our drinks. But the measures put in place by the local authority is to ensure that all safety and hygiene aspects are taken care of, especially our safety while sitting by the road side with vehicular traffic passing by.

We dropped in on two outlets – one in Bandar Kinrara and another in USJ9. Both outlets appeared to be very well-organised for their alfresco dining. Tables and chairs were neatly placed and the stretch used was notably clean.

Where is your favourite outdoor dining spot? Tell us why you like the place.