Following an outcry from some North End restauranteurs in response to her new outdoor dining policy in that neighborhood, Mayor Michelle Wu announced some conciliatory next steps for outdoor dining in the North End during a March 29 press conference.
“We are going to continue to be in conversation about all the different things our neighborhoods need,†said Mayor Wu, who was joined at the press conference by State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz, State Sen. and City Councilor Lydia Edwards, more than 20 North End restaurant owners, and neighborhood residents.
As a new concession to North End restauranteurs, Mayor Wu announced that the $7,500 fee for outdoor dining in the neighborhood can be paid in monthly increments. Restaurants will only be required to pay for the months when they choose to participate in the program, she said, and the city has also launched a process for restaurants to apply for a hardship rate based on a variety of factors.
“The City will determine whether an establishment qualifies for a discount based on their location, the size of their patio space, and if the establishment does not have a liquor license,†according to a press release from Mayor Wu’s office.
Other new changes to the citywide Outdoor Dining Program, which allows restaurants the use of expanded public space for outdoor dining, include new closing hours of 9:30 p.m. Sunday – Thursday (all patrons off premises by 10 p.m.) and Friday and Saturday at 10:30 p.m. (all patrons off premises by 11 p.m.); updated barrier safety requirements; updated fire safety guidance; new insurance requirements; and a required evacuation plan.
Despite some North End restaurateurs opposing Mayor Wu’s plan for outdoor dining in the neighborhood outside the March 29 press conference, the Mayor’s Press Office said on Monday, April 4, no lawsuits had been filed against the city in regard to its outdoor dining policy in the North End.
While the city’s outdoor dining program began in other neighborhoods this year on April 1, it isn’t scheduled to start in the North End until May 1.
Meanwhile, the North End has the densest concentration of restaurants in the state, according to the city, and was home last year to 77 outdoor dining patios (70 on public property) in just 0.2 square miles, compared to 51 patios in Back Bay (21 on-street), 14 in the Seaport, seven in Roxbury, six in Charlestown, and just one patio in Chinatown.