PENDLETON — They’re not quite parklets, but the Pendleton business community has taken its first steps toward expanding their seating spaces on South Main Street.

A joint effort between the Pendleton Chamber of Commerce and the Pendleton Downtown Association, the two nonprofits secured a 60-day permit from the city to set up expanded outdoor seating areas in the on-street parking spaces in front of seven downtown businesses. The two organizations pooled grant funds to cover the costs of the new downtown infrastructure.

Angela Thompson, the president of the downtown association, said work crews began installing equipment on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to give drivers a chance to get used to the new contours of Main Street. After a walk-through with public safety staff to ensure they were safe to use, the new seating areas, which included fencing, tables, seating and umbrellas, welcomed in guests on Friday, Sept. 25.

“The chamber of commerce staff, along with help from the city public works department, worked last week not only setting up what the community can see, but worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure businesses had the correct licensing and insurance,” Cheri Rosenberg, the president of the chamber, said. “We were very fortunate that Banner Bank was able to send their notary to each business so business owners didn’t have to take time off to get items notarized which was so helpful.”

Thompson said the 60-day seating areas will act as a trial run as the nonprofits consider more permanent parklets.

While the idea of parklets — on-street parking space-occupying platforms that typically feature landscaping and outdoor seating — has been floating around for some time, the downtown association and chamber recently revived talks around it.

Thompson said the groups decided to pursue expanded outdoor seating as an immediate measure after consulting with officials from Walla Walla, Washington, which already has parklets in its downtown area.

The chamber and association want to gather feedback from business owners and patrons before committing to parklets.

“Parklets are like a jigsaw puzzle,” Thompson said. “A 5,000 piece jigsaw puzzle.”

A stumbling block in previous parklet campaigns was concern from some business owners on how parklets might hurt customer traffic because it took away on-street parking spots. But Thompson said the downtown area should still have adequate parking even with the presence of parklets, citing a 2017 study that showed that the city’s overall average of vacant public parking spaces never dipped below halfway empty.

Besides being a boon to restaurants that have been forced to cut seating room capacities due to COVID-19, Thompson is hoping the new outdoor seating areas will increase foot traffic to retail establishments that have also taken a hit. Her own business, Pendleton Music Co., usually relies on student instrument rentals as a significant source of revenue, but the lack of in-person school means there was no back-to-school rush.

The extended outdoor seating areas’ permit runs from Sept. 18 to Nov. 17, and although weather could cause some of them to close earlier, Thompson said the association and chamber are exploring ways to distribute heaters that will make outdoor dining possible even as the temperature starts to drop.

With the future of parklets reliant on public feedback, some of the early reviews are coming back positive.

“We had a visit just this morning from a local retailer stating this was their ‘best week since March’ we are hoping the increase in foot traffic is due to the expanded seating,” Rosenberg wrote.

Great Pacific Wine & Coffee Co. manager Addison Schulberg said the 403 S. Main St. restaurant almost immediately saw an uptick in customers, who were also staying longer in the outdoor setting.

Great Pacific has been steadfast in trying to operate responsibly during the pandemic, but their desire for a parklet predates the days of COVID-19.

“We would be building it at dawn tomorrow (if we could),” Schulberg said.

OMG! Burgers & Brew co-owner Rodney Burt said customers seemed to enjoy the outdoor seating, and he wouldn’t be opposed to seeing the outdoor seating become a parklet.

“ We saw what Walla Walla did and it’s really nice,” he said.

Wes Duchek and Kathy Beck were among those dining outside Great Pacific on Saturday, Sept. 26. The couple said they have been waiting for Pendleton to install parklets for years and were excited the idea finally came to fruition.

“This gives people a place to come and sit and visit,” said Duchek. “It’s a no-brainer.”

Beck and Duchek shared that they often enjoyed the streetside dining opportunities provided by parklets in cities, such as San Francisco and Walla Walla.

“Every town we go to that has parklets, we have always wanted to see them here in Pendleton,” said Duchek.

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Multimedia reporter Ben Lonergan contributed to this article.