How to go
What: The patio at The Winds Cafe
Where: 215 Xenia Ave., Yellow Springs
More information: www.windscafe.com or (937) 767-1144
About the patio construction: Gregor Construction, under the direction of Tommaso Gregor and garden designer Nadia Malarkey, helped Mary Kay Smith put together the plans. Construction took six weeks to complete.
A good patio isn’t as easy to track down in the Miami Valley as one might hope.
Many patios face parking lots. Many more still are the de facto spot for smokers to get their nicotine fix.
So, when an already good patio gets even better, there’s cause for celebration.
When Mary Kay Smith, owner and operator of The Winds Cafe, worked on construction of the restaurant’s original patio in 1991 she didn’t own the building next door.
Since purchasing the adjacent property she has been mulling over an expansion that could better accommodate larger parties and would feel more open.
“The old patio was almost like secret garden … many people didn’t know it was even there,” Smith said. “The new patio has buzz, it has pop, it has a sense of energy.”
In addition to opening up and expanding the patio area making it more open with updated lighting, Smith also put a new facade on the front of the building. The overall effect is fresh and inviting with a European sensibility.
“Its placement is front and center. It’s more open,” Smith said. “You can see the street and people walking by (from the patio). People see their friends, and they join them for a drink.”
“Across the board people have loved it.”
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