In Plymouth, outdoor dining and the often competing needs of restaurant owners and the municipalities that host them—topped the agenda of a round table discussion at Plymouth Town Hall on Tuesday. The event convened by Senator Susan Moran and Representative Tackey Chan included restaurant owners and business associations from the district.
Bobbi Clark has more:
Whatever the challenges of outdoor dining, Deb Tanis, part owner of Plymouth’s Cork & Table, spoke for many when she said:
“It saved us, there was no way around it. It kept our doors open for the Covid season.”
But, keeping restaurant doors open, especially when the dining space extends onto the sidewalk does impact retailers.
Senator Susan Moran:
“The biggest challenge I saw today was to be able to balance the needs of retailers with the needs of restaurateurs when you look at outdoor dining and bringing it onto sidewalks and public spaces.”
Selectman Harry Helm, Chairs Plymouth’s Outdoor Dining Task Force:
“A number of things have been, I don’t want to say ignored, but not prioritized, that are statute level, local or state, that were kind of side-stepped—in order to get this up for Covid.”
But, Helm says, as we move…
“…which clearly Plymouth is going to, to a permanent solution— you have to address the items such as ADA compliance, the plumbing codes at the state level, and a number of other state level codes and local codes.”
