Hmm...surrendering your permit is basically financial suicide, so that's out. Filing for a zoning exemption, well, that's the city government and can take a few weeks or months, but it might be expedited for a little, youknowwhatI'msayin', consideration in the right hands. Or you can opt for a "certified land survey", right? Now, who does that, and who are they related to?
It's a shakedown, of course. And it will work.
When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion – when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing – when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors – when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don't protect you against them, but protect them against you – when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice – you may know that your society is doomed.
Francisco d'Anconia in Atlas Shrugged
Good points. Then there’s the charm factor. Assuming that all sidewalk cafe’s make a point of being charming, they benefit the citizens’ spirits very much.