Lawmakers, not Lowell, should save restaurants

With no other recourse, many of the state’s struggling restaurants want to continue outdoor operations for as long as possible.

On Tuesday night, the Lowell City Council did its part by voting unanimously to extend the city’s temporary outdoor seating program to Dec. 1, while at the same time exploring ways to make outdoor seating a permanent fixture, due to a global pandemic that shows no signs of abating.

The councilors had previously approved a measure that allowed restaurants to offer outdoor seating in public spaces like sidewalks until Oct. 31 to compensate for the pandemic’s impact on indoor seating capacity. According to Director of Economic Development Christine Mccall, nearly 30 Lowell restaurants have some form of sidewalk seating.

Mccall said the city is also looking into creating a permanent outdoor seating program. Extending the current setup to December will allow the Law Department, Department of Public Works and Department of Planning and Development to work out the details.

Those particulars include “evaluating issues related to the purchase and storage of jersey barriers, vinyl coverings, outdoor heating equipment, snow removal, and ongoing maintenance and cleanliness of the space, according to a memo from McCall to City Manager Eileen Donoghue.

In help with those efforts, the city recently received a $40,100 grant through the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT)’S Shared Streets and Spaces program.

That funding will help cover winter outdoor-seating necessities like propane heaters, landscape materials, supplies for public art and pop-up tents. The goal of the program is to help residents feel safe while continuing to support local businesses as the weather cools.

“This is a good gesture,” Councilor Rita Mercier said. “What they’re going through is devastating with COVID.”

Without question, this virus has hit the hospitality industry – particularly restaurants – especially hard.

While we commend Lowell’s and other communities’ efforts to extend the outdoor-seating season or make it permanent, without an infusion of state or federal aid, restaurants face a bleak future, especially with the onset of winter.

That was the message a group of beleaguered restaurant owners recently conveyed to state lawmakers.

Nearly two dozen members of Massachusetts Restaurants United converged on Beacon Hill to warn legislators that many of the already dwindling number of restaurants won’t survive without state assistance.

Roughly one quarter of the state’s 16,000 restaurants have closed permanently due to this pandemic, and Restaurant Association President Bob Luz has predicted that nearly half of those remaining won’t make it another six months unless revenues rebound.

Even in ideal weather conditions, restaurants have a difficult time making ends meet, relying primarily on outside dining and takeout orders.

Restaurateurs complain that financial constraints imposed by reduced indoor capacity limits have been exacerbated by unconscionably high service fees charged by companies like Grubhub, Ubereats, Postmates, and Doordash.

Like other sectors of the economy grappling with the adverse economic effects of this pandemic, restaurants have pinned their hopes on a comprehensive economicdevelopment bill under consideration in the Legislature.

It includes grants for distressed eateries, and also would cap the fees delivery apps could charge at 15% until 45 days after the governor’s COVID-19 state of emergency ends.

Though agreeing to stay in formal legislative session until the end of the year, the House and Senate have little to show for it.

In the meantime, restaurants and other industries that employ thousands have undergone major contractions.

One community can only do so much to keep restaurants afloat.

The Legislature needs to act expeditiously to avert further wholesale closures.