Fairfield Restaurant Week kicks off as town eyes outdoor dining regulations
FAIRFIELD — Fairfield Restaurant Week kicked off on Monday just weeks head of another effort in town that could help restaurants: easing outdoor dining regulations.
In a release, First Selectwoman Brenda Kupchick said 25 eateries had signed up to participate in the annual event, noting it will run from Oct. 24 to Nov. 6.
Restaurants participating in this year’s event will be offering special fixed prices or discounted lunch and dinner menus.
“Fairfield is excited to sponsor this town-wide event, celebrating our many great restaurants,” she said. “Restaurant Week gives the public the opportunity to visit longtime favorites or try someplace new. With the variety of cuisine on offer with this event, it’s easy to see why Fairfield continues to be a top dining destination.”
Mark Barnhart, Fairfield’s director of community and economic development, said in the release that it has been a trying time for many small businesses between staffing shortages, increased costs and supply chain issues, adding restaurateurs face a host of challenges.
“We hope that residents and visitors alike will be able to enjoy and support the many restaurants that Fairfield has to offer.”
This year’s line up of restaurants include The Little Pub, Mecha Noodle Bar, Bella Sera Ristorante, Old Post Tavern and Rio Bravo.
Reached by phone on Tuesday, Barnhart said the event is taking place just weeks before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission will vote on changing zoning regulations to make it easier for restaurants to have outdoor dining. He noted that the application for those changes is on the docket on Nov. 15.
“I think we have a lot of wind behind our sales,” he said. “We had done an online petition as well as a petition drive at a couple local restaurants just to get an indication of public support for the proposed changes. In a matter of a few weeks, we collected approximately 1,500 signatures.”
The state had relaxed outdoor dining regulations during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but those changes are set to expire next year.
For that reason, the Fairfield Economic Development Commission proposed allowing restaurants to have up to 575 square feet of outdoor dining space without requiring more off-street parking, as the current limit is set at 150 square feet.
The amendment would also no longer require 75 percent of the seating be inside.
Barnhart said there is a lot of public support for making those changes, adding his department has also checked in with other businesses in town to get their perspective. He said they also talked with the police, fire and health departments to check and ensure officials had no issues.
“They are generally supportive of the concept,” he said. “I think our intent here is really to have a mechanism in place to preserve what we like the most about outdoor dining.”
Fairfield already had a robust outdoor dining scene, Barnhart said, but the loosened pandemic guidelines allowed restaurants to expand on that. He said people have come to appreciate dining al fresco.
“It certainly adds a lot of vibrancy, not just to our downtown but to our commercial districts in general,” he said.
The EDC originally submitted its changes earlier this year, but the Town Plan and Zoning Commission denied the proposal, saying it would revisit it before the state rules expired. Some TPZ members wanted to use the extra time, including another season of outdoor dining, to get more information before changing any of Fairfield’s regulations.
Barnhart said they have done their best to answer TPZ members questions, and he is feeling confident about it being approved.
Speaking to restaurant week, Barnhart said he has heard it is going well so far.
He noted that prior years typically had more participants.
“Some of it is whether or not they can handle the extra crunch that comes with one of our more popular events,” he said. “We get a lot of people taking part in restaurant week that puts a lot of strain on restaurants even when they are fully staffed. That definitely was in impact in the minds of some as to whether or not this was the right year for them to do that.”
Still, Barnhart said, the eateries participating this year represent a wide variety of cuisine styles, price points and dining styles.
He said restaurants have been busy even before this week, and so he expects turnout to be very strong.
A full list of participating restaurants is available at www.experiencefairfieldct.org/eats.