‘It’s an essential’
‘StrEATeries’ return as city prepares to bring back its outdoor dining
STAMFORD — Expanded outdoor eateries are coming back to Stamford starting in April.
The Downtown Special Services District announced this week that its celebrated “StrEATeries” program returns on April 1. The push, which started last May because of the pandemic, transforms parking spots across some of Stamford’s main streets into extended patios for outdoor dining.
Streateries launched in June 2020, and the program was met with praise from restaurateurs and diners alike. Now, the city hopes to go in with a more upscale approach.
“Last year was rushed. The future was unknown. It was a partial season — we had it up and running early June, but it wasn’t clear how long (the pandemic) was going to last. It wasn’t clear kind of what the future was going to hold, or whether there was going to be demand,” said DSSD President David Kooris.
But when expanded outdoor dining arrived last summer, restaurants downtown saw the benefits pay in dividends.
“To close the street was the best thing to do,” Chef Alain Bars of Chez Vous Bistro told The Advocate last summer. “It was like a regular Friday night or Saturday night. We saw how excellent it was.”
Now, however, the situation has changed as COVID-19 vaccinations mount and an end to the pandemic is on the horizon.
Kooris said outdoor dining is less about survival for small businesses. This year, it’s more focused on meeting consumer demand in an interesting way.
“It’s transitioning from being absolutely essential to keep restaurants open. Now, it’s an essential component of our branding and marketing, of why you know people should come to Stanford,” he said. “We have solidified our role in the region as an outdoor dining destination. And the more money we can be bringing in from customers outside the community, the more value that creates for Stamford, its businesses and its residents.”
At least at the start, social distancing protocols will remain in place. Restaurants must keep tables 6 feet apart, and patrons must wear masks while not seated or eating.
But Kooris expects that distance
to decrease as more people are vaccinated. He compared the likely trajectory to schools. Even though the rest of the world remains 6 feet apart, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now recommends that all students stay only 3 feet apart.
With enough luck, outdoor dining could see a similar fate.
The popularity of more outdoor dining also pushed Stamford to more structural changes, too. Partially because of outdoor dining, the city announced an $800,000 redesign of lower Summer Street. In the end, the downtown block will have wider sidewalks and a canopy of overhead light that would enable more streateries.
To Kooris, expanded streateries are one of the few silver linings from the pandemic. Out of necessity, people began eating outdoor, and Kooris thinks streateries will have a lasting impact on outdoor dining in Stamford.
“Going back years, we have been advocating to the city for these kinds of things, and there was always understandable hesitation. It was untested,” he said. “The pandemic put us in a situation where we had to try it out. Now we all realize that it was positive for the community. And so we can continue doing what we had always hoped to do.”
That idea is one the governor echoed too.
“One positive outcome of this unfortunate pandemic has been that we’ve been thinking about new, creative ways to offer activities outdoors, including at restaurants,” Gov. Ned Lamont said in a statement. “Expanded outdoor dining has created a vibrancy in many of our neighborhoods in ways that we haven’t seen before, all while supporting locally owned, small businesses.”
Lamont applauded the House of Representatives for passage of a bill Thursday relaxing state laws on outdoor dining. It heads next to the state Senate for approval.
“The two months when Connecticut shut down dining entirely were some of the darkest days ever faced by our industry,” said Dan Meiser, the chairman of the Connecticut Restaurant Association, in a statement. “Thankfully, many local restaurants were eventually able to use outdoor dining as a tool to stay in business, and keep people employed. Collectively we worked with state and local officials to change parking lots, sidewalks, and even roads into dining areas. This should continue in 2021, so that our industry can plan ahead, keep our doors open, and continue on the long road toward recovery to the benefit of local economies throughout Connecticut.”
In Stamford, DSSD expects the outdoor dining arrangement to continue into the late fall.
Restaurant patios will soon pop up across Bedford, Summer, Atlantic, Bank, and Main streets. And the parking lot between Bedford and Forest streets will become the season’s biggest alfresco eatery. The city will convert part of the area behind businesses like Lorca Coffee Bar and Bradford’s Grill & Tavern into the Bedford Street Piazza — “a massive outdoor dining patio.”
Last year the Bedford lot allowed parking in the morning, before transitioning to dining in the afternoon. This year, however, DSSD plans to fully shutter the parking lot and use it exclusively for dining starting April 1. The backyard patio will serve diners at Lorca Coffee Bar; Bradford’s Grill & Tavern; Bedford Hall; Mecha Noodle Bar; Tigín Irish Pub; Capriccio; and a new Italian deli opening.