Closed door protest
Restaurants plan closure over outdoor dining ban in neighborhood
Looking to grab a bite in the North End ahead of the Sweet 16 at the Garden? Some restaurants plan to shut down for a couple hours on Thursday in a protest against the city’s outdoor dining ban for the neighborhood.
A group of restaurant owners who say they have been unfairly targeted by Mayor Michelle Wu will close their doors Thursday afternoon, as they call on the mayor to meet with them about flipping the outdoor dining restrictions.
The city has banned onstreet dining in the North End, limiting the al fresco option to “compliant sidewalk patios.” Out of Boston’s 23 neighborhoods, the North End is the only one to encounter the restrictions.
“We’re asking for the same as everyone else, we’re not asking for anything extra,” Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde, co-owner of Vinoteca di Monica, told the Herald on Monday.
“For our small business community, it’s a matter of whether or not we can stay competitive and profitable,” the restaurateur added. “We’ve been completely left out without the outdoor dining.”
The restaurant owners will be posting signs on their doors, stating they’ll be closed from 3 to 5 p.m., and urging patrons to join them at a meeting about outdoor dining rules.
The owners are inviting Wu to the meeting at Saint Leonard’s church on Hanover Street.
“We want to be heard,” Mendoza-Iturralde said. “We’ve been asking from the get-go to have a conversation with the mayor.
“We’re hoping she comes and meets with us,” he added.
A spokesperson for Wu did not immediately respond to comment about the upcoming meeting and whether she’ll make an appearance.
The particularly narrow streets of the North End are not featured elsewhere in the city, Wu has said in the past. As a result, the neighborhood has to face different restrictions that take into account the people living there, not just the business owners, she has argued.
“In 2023, due to reasons including the North End’s high density of restaurants and foot traffic, narrow streets and sidewalks, resident parking scarcity, and other related considerations, the City issued permits in the neighborhood for compliant sidewalk patios, but did not issue permits for on-street outdoor dining,” reads the city’s website for the Outdoor Dining Program.
“In 2024, the City intends to continue those policies in the North End and may craft additional neighborhood-specific guidelines as the program advances,” the city’s website adds.
But the North End restaurant owners say the neighborhood is being “punished” and missing out on business because of the outdoor dining restrictions. A group of 21 neighborhood restaurateurs and the North End Chamber of Commerce have filed a lawsuit in federal court, demanding the city refund the losses their businesses have sustained.
In 2022, officials forced restaurateurs to pay a $7,500 fee for outdoor dining operations in a shortened season compared to other neighborhoods.
“The mayor favors certain neighborhoods and neglects others,” Mendoza-Iturralde said, later adding, “It’s exhausting to have to spar with your government constantly.”
The city’s 2024 Outdoor Dining Program will begin on May 1. Fees are only required for patios on public property for temporary and permanent approvals. The fees are $199 per month for licensees with a common victualler (no alcohol), and $399 per month for licensees with a common victualler with alcohol (includes malt, wine, breweries, cordials, liqueurs, and all alcohol licenses).