Outdoor dining is back in the city of Boston starting Friday, with the exception of the North End, which begins in May.
Some restaurants were ready to go with chairs out ahead of time. Outdoor dining was implemented in response to help small businesses struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is bringing the program back throughout the city this year, except in the North End.
But restaurant owners are in the North End are battling with Mayor Michelle Wu over a $7,500 fee, arguing that no other part of Boston is subject to the same fee for outdoor dining spaces. In addition, restaurants will be charged $458 a month for each parking spot used in their outdoor dining areas.
Get Boston local news, weather forecasts, lifestyle and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Boston’s newsletters.
Last year in Boston, more than 400 restaurants took advantage of serving outside.
"We’re really excited, it’s been a really, really tough winter," said David Doyle, owner of Tres Gatos. "The start of January was really tough with the omicron variant so we in the restaurant community need our patios back as much as ever.”
For those doing it this year, there are some new rules in place. Outdoor dining areas have to close at 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday. On Fridays and Saturdays, they can remain open until 10:30 p.m.
Boston is also requiring more insurance and more specific design plans. But perhaps one of the most noticeable changes to restaurant owners is that they will also need updated, heavy-duty barriers.
When it comes to those barriers, there has been some pushback from restaurant owners, who argue that the ones they bought last year were a wasted investment.
The new ones are quite costly.
"What's frustrating for us is that a lot of investment in time and money was made last year, and now, that investment is a lost investment," Doyle said.
