The Town of Essex is looking to assist businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The town has started to accept applications for patio extensions and retail outdoor spaces and Councillor Morley Bowman says the town wants to help businesses rebound.
"I know some had already, even before the COVID were working towards patios so this would be right down their alley and I'm sure there are others that will try to expand theirs as well," says Bowman.
He says some restaurants are having a difficult time.
"Moving forward it's going to be difficult for them to recoup of some their business, so if we could do something along this line to help them, I think it's well and good," says Bowman.
"It would be nice if we could help every store in town in some way and hopefully we can do something but we're pretty limited in what you can do so this is something that makes sense to us, so let's do it," says Bowman.
The town is hoping to review the applications prior to the region moving on to Stage 2.
Bowman says businesses in the town might also be eligible to receive grants from the municipality worth 50 per cent of the cost of the patio, to a maximum of $4,000.