NORTH END EATERIES READY TO HIT STREET
Outdoor option would ease virus concerns
North End restaurant owners say shutting down historic Hanover Street and expanding outdoor dining into roads and sidewalks could be the saving grace for their businesses as the coronavirus lockdown lifts.
“In this neighborhood, it would be a dream come true to have a little outdoor dining, so you experience the neighborhood, the people, the culture,” said Nick Verano, owner of Strega on Hanover Street.
“It would help us a lot,” agreed Frank Prezzano, who has owned neighboring Ristorante Saraceno for 35 years.
More than 87 restaurants feed locals and tourists in the North End, but most of that dining usually happens inside — at small tables set feet apart, or at a lively bar, often over a glass of red wine.
But both Verano and Prezzano own restaurants that lack a permanent patio or deck, and outdoor space is relatively rare in the North End. The historically Italian neighborhood is famous for the old-world charm of its crowded city blocks, where trattorias sit on top of pastry shops.
The state’s four-phase reopening plan could allow restaurants to seat diners as soon as June 8, if coronavirus cases continue to trend downward, but the guidelines for dining out are extensive. Gov. Charlie Baker told the press on Friday that early restaurant dining will be outdoors, with social distancing of 6 feet between tables.
North End restaurateurs say they’d like to see Mayor Martin Walsh temporarily change some traffic patterns in the neighborhood so restaurants can set up pop-up dining areas in front of their awnings. Walsh has floated the idea of closing down Hanover Street for a few weeks, but hasn’t moved on it, though the city has created “food takeout priority zones” for a half-dozen restaurants along Hanover.
The restaurant owners added that with the neighborhood’s iconic summer feasts canceled, it would benefit the overall ambience of the North End to safely welcome diners into closedoff streets.
“Going out to dinner, it’s a luxury. It’s an option that this neighborhood has thrived on forever,” Verano said.
One city in New England — Portland, Maine — has already approved the temporary shutdown of five public streets to accommodate outdoor expansion for restaurants and retail beginning June 1 there.
Prezzano said he hasn’t been able to do much yet to plan for reopening his business past take-out, given the uncertain nature of the pandemic. But he said he and his neighbors are prepared to weather any storm.
“This is like another war, a third war,” he said. “I was born in 1944, at the end of the war, in Italy. That was tough. That was tough. We’ll ride out this, too.”