temporary restaurant booths in street | and in sidewalk ©Lauren Helf
August 17, 2020
Pandemic Dining
Summer's here and the time is right for dining in the street.
And the sidewalk. And the gutter.
Outdoor dining usually appears attractive, festive. But what's happening now is really an act of desperation. The pandemic
shut down these enterprises for months, and now they are trying to make up for lost revenue. Restrictions governing
coveted outdoor spaces for restaurants have been eliminated, but other rules are imposed. Between the difficulties
for proprietors balancing stipulations, rainy weather, and economic pressure, and the justified grumbling of resident neighbors
regarding lost parking and backyard spaces, more noise and sidewalk crowding, and legitimate fear of the virus spreading, it may be
only the drinkers who are being well-served.
In any case, the pandemic decrease in car traffic means less grit blowing into the diners' food. Bon appétit.
