With the unofficial end to summer in New England -- Labor Day weekend -- people were out soaking up the last few weeks of warm weather, packing patios at restaurants like Nantasket Flats Kitchen and Bar in Hull, Massachusetts.
“It’s been a challenging summer because we still have a lot of people that don’t want to go inside, but luckily we have a patio, and the weather has been great,” said Michael Wharton, the General Manager of Nantasket Flats.
Beach businesses, some of which are seasonal, are now hoping the nice weather will continue into the fall, so that they’ll continue to make up lost revenue from the pandemic.
The Cape Cod Chamber of Commerce is even touting a “second summer” to keep businesses afloat as they continue to endure economic strain.
The idea is to attract visitors for getaways that otherwise wouldn’t come.
New England Businesses
At Natasket Flats, they’re also hoping for a mild fall season because their patio and sidewalk sits an additional 60 people. While it would normally close around Labor Day weekend, they say they’ll keep it open as long as they can.
“We are open, we have heat lamps, we have sweatshirts, we have blankets, fire pits just to keep going as long as we can,” said Wharton. “There’s a lot of restaurants that are suffering and a lot of employees are suffering, so we’re trying to keep it going.”
Ken Milso, an Abington resident and small business owner himself, says he tries to go out and support local restaurants as much as possible.
“For the restaurants it’s very hard but I support them very much,” he said.
