Fullerton to explore making a street closure for outdoor dining permanent

A street closure that first began as a response to the pandemic four years ago may become a lasting outdoor dining fixture in downtown Fullerton.

The Fullerton City Council voted to extend “Walk on Wilshire,” a 200-foot stretch of Wilshire Avenue that is closed to car traffic, until Jan. 31, 2025 while the city studies a plan to expand and make it permanent.

Residents and community members concerned about Walk on Wilshire’s future packed council chambers on Tuesday, many in support of continuing the walkway.

James Kim, donning a green “Save Wow” shirt, claimed that the uncertainty surrounding the street has undercut its full potential as the sole outdoor dining area in downtown.

“Dismantling Walk on Wilshire in January would directly go against the wishes of the public and most local businesses,” Kim said. “There are multiple businesses that have been waiting to build parklets for over a year and a half because this council has not yet made Walk on Wilshire permanent.”

The walkway’s supporters circulated an online petition that gathered nearly 2,000 signatures.

Councilman Fred Jung has been critical of how Walk on Wilshire has rolled out in the past four years and cited a $30,000 deficit.

“If we’re going to look at a closure of any street, close the entire street,” he said. “Why a quarter of it? Why not the entire street? Make it so there’s a legitimate investment that we make.”

Mulberry St. Ristorante is the only business that has built a permitted parklet for outdoor dining since the street closure began. Other businesses, like Fullerton Brew Co. and SomiSomi, have obtained permits but have been reluctant to invest in parklet construction given the walkway’s uncertain future.

A trio of restaurants have declined to participate in outdoor dining altogether.

Council members considered three options for Walk on Wilshire’s future, including a parklet program for downtown that would allow for event-specific closures of the street.

Reopening the street to car traffic was estimated to incur a minimal $2,000 cost to the city.

Tony Bushala, a longtime Fullerton resident who owns property on Wilshire Avenue, spoke in support of bringing in bollards to seal the street off from car traffic, but only temporarily for special events.

“We need to open that street up,” he said. “Let the businesses continue and, if there’s an event, close it off.”

Even though Walk on Wilshire supporters presented council members with 65 small business owners backing the walkway, not every downtown entrepreneur was on board.

Chris Presta, the owner of the Back Alley Bar & Grill, didn’t report any positive impact from Walk on Wilshire on downtown when he spoke before council.

“I’ve got hours of video and [photos] of that street being empty,” Presta said. “There’s more people in this room than Walk on Wilshire.”

In 2023, Huntington Beach City opened up a second block of Main Street to car traffic and gave restaurateurs a deadline to scale back outdoor dining operations to make space for metered parking again.

Cal State Fullerton Professor Karen Stocker argued that scholarly research backs the benefits of curbing car-centric culture in favor of walkable cities and invited Fullerton to stroll down a more permanent path on Wilshire Avenue.

“There are multiple and interconnected benefits to community, economy, health, the arts, environmental stewardship and civic engagement,” she said. “Far from eradicating the Walk on Wilshire, we ought to extend it to the remaining block, if not more.”

With pandemic restrictions on restaurants long gone, Councilwoman Shana Charles saw a silver lining in the form of Walk on Wilshire and wanted to expand the closure for another 400 feet.

“We have something extraordinary here, we really do,” she said. “We need to give the people what they want.”

Councilman Fred Whitaker was the sole vote against the extension and study.

Mayor Nick Dunlap recused himself during the discussion, as he has done on previous extension votes.

Three council members agreed to extend Walk on Wilshire’s lifeline while leaving the question of its permanency to a possible January vote when a new council is seated after the elections.