The new Visit Guernsey initiative will see the seafront between Albert and Crown piers close to vehicles from 2pm on Saturday 26 July to allow set up for the event to take place.
Islanders will then be able to enjoy a selection of food, drinks, arts and crafts stalls, al fresco dining and live music between 4pm and 10pm.
Both piers will remain accessible during the afternoon and evening.
The road will begin to be cleared at 10pm ahead of its reopening at midnight.
Balthazar restaurant manager Kevin Castro praised the event as a ‘really good idea’.
‘We are having a meeting to discuss it in more detail next week, but I expect we are going to join in and take part,’ he said.
‘I think we are going to put extra seats and tables outside.’
PingQuay owner Simon Allum said he was ‘fully supportive’ of the idea, adding such an event should be taking place every Saturday.
‘It will bring more families in because of the lack of traffic, parents not having to worry as much about keeping their children safe from cars will make a huge difference.
‘If we knew it was definitely happening every Saturday we would invest in more furniture. Hopefully it does keep happening.’
One element of the event he thought may need reconsideration was the 10pm cut-off point.
‘For us as a bar, having to tell customers sat outside halfway through their drinks that they have to come inside so that the road can be cleared ahead of reopening will be a bit confusing.
‘But from a dining perspective I get it as most people will be finished eating by 10pm.’
The owners of Hook, which is situated just beyond Crown Pier on North Esplanade, said they only found out about the event yesterday.
‘If we aren’t part of the area that is going to be included in it then that’ll be disappointing, as we’d definitely extend our al fresco dining,’ Hook co-owner Sam Jarrold said.
‘We’re 100% behind it and it’d be a cool thing to do more often, hopefully North Esplanade can be included in future.’
Visit Guernsey lead marketing officer Zoe Gosling said businesses in Town had been keen for a number of years to trial a Seafront Saturday night.
‘To ensure financial viability, and result in being able to offer this trial event to stallholders free of charge, we extended an existing Seafront Sunday in the calendar, where much of the logistics were already in place,’ she said.
‘We worked closely with Guernsey Police, Traffic & Highways and other internal and external stakeholders to cause minimal disruption.’
She said the initial response had been positive.
‘We are hopeful that, with good weather on our side, it will be a great evening that both locals and visitors can enjoy, and will provide the foundations of something we can build on in the future, as well as providing a welcome boost for the night-time economy.’
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