Rehoboth Beach commissioners approved a supplemental permit of compliance for outdoor dining on public space and then executed a lease agreement with the restaurant owners of Indigo during a meeting April 17.

Located on the ocean block of Rehoboth Avenue, just west of Penny Lane, Indigo was opened in 2017 by the father-and-son team of Suraj and Raghu Kumar.

During the meeting, Raghu said the request was being made on behalf of customers with dogs who had expressed a desire to dine outside. The restaurant will still be well below the allowed number of seats, he said.

This was the first application for outdoor dining on public property in a number of years. In response to COVID, the city implemented outdoor dining, and a number of restaurants took advantage of the option. When the health emergency subsided, city officials continued to allow outdoor dining in public space so long as specific dimensions for pedestrian access can be met.

It’s exciting there’s going to be a new outdoor dining patio, said Mayor Stan Mills.

According to an application submitted as part of the request, there will be three four-tops in the outdoor dining area. The annual license fee for the lease agreement is $325.