As Featured on CBC London:
We were delighted to be featured recently by CBC London in their story about the return of patio season and Downtown London’s Patio Trail, a digital passport program that encourages people to explore more than 30 patios across the downtown core.
You can read the full CBC London story here: Patio season in downtown London.
The Patio Trail runs until August 28 and gives visitors a fun reason to check in at participating downtown patios, earn points, and redeem them for prizes, including Downtown Dollar gift cards that can be spent at local businesses. CBC reported that 589 people took part in the 2025 Patio Trail, logging more than 16,600 check-ins across 36 participating businesses.
At London Bicycle Café, we love the idea behind the Patio Trail because it helps people discover the places that make downtown feel alive.
As Alicia Berkelmans, our executive chef and general manager, told CBC:
We started off with the bakery trail, and we found success with every trail that they presented. For us as a small business, obviously, advertising is very expensive, and they have a really solid following.
For a small business on the edge of downtown, visibility matters. Our patio sits near the river, right beside the Thames Valley Parkway, Ivey Park, and the Forks of the Thames. It is a beautiful spot, but it is not always the first place people see when walking through the downtown core.
That is why Alicia said:
For them to put all this time and effort into putting us on a literal map is really important. People don’t know we’re here.
Our patio is more than a sunny place to enjoy coffee, brunch, dinner, drinks, or a post-ride snack. It is part of what we hope downtown can be: welcoming, active, local, and connected. It is a place to meet friends, listen to live music, stop during a ride, bring the family, or enjoy an evening downtown.
CBC also highlighted a bigger point behind the Patio Trail: strong downtown businesses help create a stronger city. Alicia put it this way:
Downtown in any city, as far as I’m concerned, is the heart. Participating in downtown is a form of stewardship in our community, where we are preserving that alive feeling of our city.
That idea means a lot to us. A healthy downtown is not just about buildings or traffic. It is about people choosing to spend time together. It is about local restaurants, cafés, music, art, patios, public spaces, and the small businesses that give a city its character.
As Alicia told CBC:
Downtowns are cultural centres, art centres, museum centres, all of these things. We need to keep contributing to that.
We are proud to be part of this year’s Downtown London Patio Trail, and we would love to welcome you to our patio this summer. Come by bike, on foot, with friends, with kids, or just with an appetite.