PORTSMOUTH — Nearly every Saturday night for the last two months, John Akar has taken a phone call from at least one would-be customer who needed to cancel their reservation.

PORTSMOUTH — Nearly every Saturday night for the last two months, John Akar has taken a phone call from at least one would-be customer who needed to cancel their reservation.



The reason for the abrupt cancellations, which Akar said can range from a few customers to as many as 10, has nothing to do with the service or the fact the customer is running late, however. Instead, the customer's reason appears to have everything to do with parking.



As co-owner of small tapas and wine bar called Cava on Commercial Alley, Akar said he's hearing more and more from his clientele these days about challenges they have finding parking.



"They tell me it's not that they are going to be a half hour late, it's that they've been driving around for 45 minutes and can't find a space," he said. "They say they are giving up and leaving the city completely."



With the amount of restaurant seats continuing to grow, and limited parking persisting, Akar may not be the only restaurateur starting to see the impact the parking crunch is having on business.



According to data recently provided by the Portsmouth Health Department, the city has seen an increase of 557 restaurant seats over the last year. The figures are based on food and liquor permits issued in July for the current fiscal year.



Last year around this time the city had 21,869 restaurant seats. This year, the city has 22,417 seats. The number of food permits also increased from 290 in 2012 to 301 so far this year.



"The data does show the steady increase in the food service permits issued as well as the total number of seats permitted," according to the Health Department, which notes there are a number of restaurants currently under construction, so the numbers represent a snapshot in time.



"We continue to see increases in almost all categories of permitted uses," according to the Aug. 9 memo from the Health Department.



As the number of dining establishments surges, statistics from the Portsmouth's Parking Division show the city's High-Hanover parking garage is full on a continual basis. According to data provided by parking officials, the city has been forced to close the public garage 139 times this year so far, a figure that already surpasses the 122 closures in all of 2012.



A breakdown of the parking data shows the 915-space garage has been closed on various occasions for 44 of the 51 days since June 21. The garage has also been closed at one time or another every single day since July 29. The average length of closures has also increased from 63 minutes to 105 minutes, according to city data.



Tom Cocchiaro, the city's parking division operations supervisor, said the reason for the amount of closures and the increased duration is simple: "We're just getting more people."



Charged with keeping an eye on the parking situation, Cocchiaro said last week the garage experienced "double closures" every day, meaning the facility was shuttered in the afternoon and evening hours.



Cocchiaro said part of the popularity may have something to do with the city's growing popularity as both a cultural and culinary destination.



"Portsmouth has been in the news again recently," he said. "We continue to grow in popularity. People want to come to eat, but they also want to enjoy themselves."



But if that popularity continues to grow and the parking stock remains stagnant, proprietors like Akar may end up realizing their worst fear.



"If they're that frustrated that they cancel their reservations, then the chances of them coming back to the city are minimal," he said. "That's the scariest part about it."



And while he is not against growth, Akar said there has to be a tipping point.



"I love seeing the city grow and I love seeing where it is right now, but if you open all these businesses and you don't provide parking, the people are going to stop coming."



Full plate



A look at closures of Portsmouth's High-Hanover parking garage



The 915-space garage has been closed on various occasions for 44 of the 51 days since June 21. It has been closed at one time or another every day since July 29.



The average length of closures has increased from 63 minutes to 105 minutes.