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North End restaurants once again excluded from outdoor dining this summer
Mayor Michelle Wu is holding firm on 2023's policy that kept tables off of North End streets.
Outdoor dining is coming back to Boston neighborhood’s streets and sidewalks, with one exception. The North End’s iconic Italian restaurants will not be setting up in the streets for the second year in a row.
The North End — the city’s oldest neighborhood, which has the densest restaurant presence per capita in the state — was singled out in last year’s outdoor dining plan. While it “may craft additional neighborhood-specific guidelines” later, the City of Boston said the North End could only have tables on sidewalks, not in streets.
The city said that, in part due to the North End’s density of restaurants and narrow streets and sidewalks, on-street dining permits would not be issued. Other concerns were resident parking scarcity and high foot traffic.
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“Boston’s outdoor dining program reimagines how we can best use our streets, while setting clear requirements around accessibility,” Wu said in a statement.
According to the city’s application, sidewalk-only patios for dining need to leave at least 11 feet, not including the curb, for pedestrians. With the North End’s narrow sidewalks, the restaurants lining Hanover and Salem Streets are unlikely to acquire permits.
Applications opened Tuesday for street and sidewalk permits for all other restaurant owners. The outdoor dining season, from May 1 through Oct. 31, costs $399 a month for a liquor license and $199 for those without.
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Last month, the North End Chamber of Commerce and more than 20 restaurants filed a suit in federal court against the city, claiming Wu discriminated against them in part due to their Italian heritage during the 2023 season. Previously, the restaurants had also sued the city over their neighborhood-specific $7,500 fee.
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