Early in the pandemic, Massachusetts established rules to facilitate outdoor dining, and those rules are set to expire in March 2023. (See Newton’s restaurant guidelines.) The Charles River Regional Chamber has started a petition in support of making the outdoor-dining rules permanent, at least on the local level, and the petition currently has over 1500 signatures. The City Council’s Public Safety & Transportation Committee will discuss the question on December 7 at 7PM.
We searched a bit around Newton to find if there is a range of views on outdoor dining. Most opinions we found were quite positive, but we heard reasons against it, and some mixed views:
- Stephanie Berzin: “Outdoor dining makes the neighborhoods feel more vibrant and allows small restaurants additional space to support their revenue. It is a win-win for everyone.”
- [Name withheld]: “It spoils the look of the neighborhoods, blocks street parking and blocks some of the sidewalks.”
- Laura Horst: “Outdoor dining adds a great deal of character and appeal to our village. We are a walking friendly neighborhood and are accessible to public transit. I’m completely in favor of keeping the outdoor dining that exists and adding more if demand warrants, particularly in warmer months . We have loved eating at Johnnie’s in Newton Centre. They have made their outdoor area very appealing with paintings on the cement blocks, decking, and beautiful plants. We have also enjoyed eating at House of Tandoor. We wish that Union Street by the Newton Center T stop was pedestrian and bike only, similar to Moody Street in Waltham or Church Street in Burlington, VT. I think if community members knew these were permanent fixtures of our village, they would embrace them fully and restaurants, similarly would invest more to spruce up the designated areas. If we consider the overall wellness of our community, eating outdoors and driving less would be huge contributors in a positive way.”
- Barbara Darnell: “I’m all for restaurants redeveloping their parking lots into outdoor seating, but I feel mixed about converting street parking spaces into patios. In the Highlands, street parking is at a premium, and two restaurants have benefited from Parking Space Patios while the rest of village businesses have not, yet parking for their customers is diminished. Where is the fairness? I also question how much the Parking Space Patios are being used. And with the jersey barriers, there’s barely room for DPW trucks and MBTA buses to squeeze by.”
- Dan Powdermaker: “An additional benefit of continuing outdoor dining is that it is supportive of the restaurants and cafes, businesses that enrich our village.”
- Sallee Lipshutz: “During the pandemic it saved my sanity as the only safe places for the vulnerable (read elderly and immunocompromised) to gather.”
- Stephen Farrell: “Outdoor dining is what “village” means: People gathering, not just shopping; people meeting and talking with other neighbors, not just passing each other by with heads buried in phones; shady, quiet settings to relax, not just hustling by to grab a quick drink, cash a check or get one’s nails done.”
- Amelia LeClair: “It makes our city so livable and social, as with European cities.”
- Andreae Downs: “I wish we could do the kind of creative parking spot dining competitions that NYC has.”
- Robert Fizek: “Anna’s Taqueria seems to be doing very well without having any outdoor space at all. Any of these restaurants could have their front facades modified to significantly open up their dining to the outdoors when nature allows — like Blue on Highland in Needham.”
- Adam Peller: “More outdoor dining and more foot traffic is what every village needs. I’m only sorry it took a pandemic to make outdoor dining happen in Newton.”
- Martha Connors: “I like outdoor dining. It looks great, it feels great. But it has to be done carefully. Outdoor dining doesn’t take away a lot of parking, but parking is a big issue for our village businesses. Village center zoning is moving away from parking, but we’re not there yet. Also, outdoor dining has to be done in a way that doesn’t block sidewalks. We have a lot of pedestrian traffic, and tables on the sidewalk can make it difficult to get through.”
- Matt Lai: “While a small number of parking spaces are lost, outdoor dining breathes life and vitality into village centers, promotes walkability and creates a sense of FOMO that every business craves.”
