Worcester expands restaurants' use of outdoor dining
Photo | Grant Welker
The Boynton restaurant on Highland Street in Worcester set up a tent in its parking lot to create outdoor seating.
Warm temperatures that allowed for comfortable outdoor dining are largely gone until next year. But Worcester officials are looking to give restaurants every chance they can to make ends meet during the coronavirus pandemic by continuing to serve patrons more safely outdoors.
City Manager Edward Augustus signed an executive order Wednesday allowing Worcester restaurants to continue serving patrons outside in cases where it wasn't previously allowed, giving 96 restaurants across the city the option to operate in places such as in tents set up in parking lots. A previous order by Augustus was set to expire Nov. 1. The city's License Commission is set to meet Friday to extend the expiration date of licenses that have temporarily allowed such outdoor dining.
The extension, Augustus said in a statement, is aimed at helping both the city's economic wellbeing and public health.
[Related: No limits: Lifting liquor license caps produces vibrant restaurant districts]
The city administration is separately working on other regulatory or zoning changes that will allow restaurants to continue serving outdoors during the cooler months. A zoning amendment proposal is expected to be submitted to the City Council for approval this fall.
Restaurant revenue in Worcester fell 41% during the second quarter of the year, from April to June, according to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. From April to the end of September, such revenue was down 33%.
Since the pandemic hit, restaurants including Wexford House, Save Point Tavern, Corner Grill, Blue Shades and Shangri-La have closed permanently, and Armsby Abbey has shuttered indefinitely. At the Grid District downtown, four eateries will close for at least the winter: The Worcester Beer Garden, Franklin Street Fare, Revolution Pie + Pint and Craft Table & Bar.
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What is the percentage of business restaurants are going to get from outside diners at this point in the year?
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