🔒Municipalities embrace streamlined permitting for outdoor dining

Expanded outdoor dining – permitted through a state emergency act in 2020 – was a lifeline to the food-service industry during the pandemic, state officials said, and industry experts agree.

That emergency act has expired, and a new state law (Public Act 22-1) took effect May 1, ensuring a seamless continuation of popular outdoor dining.

The 2020 act allowed restaurants to serve patrons in a safe manner without having to go through extensive land use and permitting processes.

Prior to the pandemic, restaurants looking to add outdoor dining areas would go through a lengthy land use board application process. That included providing detailed site plans and presenting those plans at a regular board meeting with a public hearing.

The new law requires all towns to adopt a more streamlined and administrative permitting process, meaning restaurants looking to continue their COVID-era outdoor dining will submit an online site plan application.

Those applications would be reviewed and approved administratively, likely by a town planner or zoning officer, instead of going before an entire commission and a hearing.

Restaurants that had outdoor dining prior to the pandemic will not need to submit applications.

Outdoor dining expanded, extended

Last month, New Haven kicked off the expanded 2023 outdoor dining season at Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant in Fair Haven while launching a new year-round outdoor dining initiative.

Salsa’s, like other restaurants around the state, took advantage of COVID-era executive orders allowing outdoor dining during the pandemic, setting up small tables shaded with umbrellas in parking spaces along Grand Avenue.

Officials said it was the emergency stipulation that allowed many to resume table service in the warmer months over the last three years.

Last year, roughly three dozen Elm City restaurants participated in outdoor dining, including Salsa’s, which opened in 2006, and were able to add outdoor seating in 2020 thanks to an infrastructure grant from the city’s “Together New Haven” program.

Now emerging from pandemic restrictions, Salsa’s continues to thrive, expanding into the neighboring retail space at 97 Grand Ave.

A lifeline for restaurants

Outdoor dining has been a popular choice among patrons and restaurant owners as a way to expand their table count.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker said it also “added a new vibrancy to many city streets.”

"The city has done outdoor dining for a long time, but COVID really gave us an opportunity to expand a lot of the options around outdoor dining, and we're building on that even more because people love to sit outside," Elicker said. "It's not just because during the pandemic it was safer, but because New Haven is a wonderful, wonderful community, with a lot of streetscapes and beautiful sites outdoors, and people love to enjoy the outdoors."

Restaurant owners got creative during COVID, with outdoor dining options such as repurposed parking spaces and sidewalks, even privately-owned lots.

Some Elm City restaurants will also be able to participate in the new extended outdoor dining season from Dec. 1 to March 31, providing a year-round option.

The site, outdoorseating.newhavenct.gov, offers resources to help restaurant owners set up and apply for outdoor dining areas.

Restaurateurs like Phil Barnett, founder and CEO of the Hartford Restaurant Group, say outdoor dining is a good trend that’s here to stay.

Barnett’s company owns nine Wood ‘n Tap restaurant locations in Connecticut, including Wallingford and Hamden sites, plus the latest location in West Springfield, Mass.

He said outdoor dining was built into the business model since he first opened the first Wood ‘n Tap restaurant in Hartford two decades ago.

It allows restaurants to capitalize on the extra seating areas during warmer months and not lose customers to other establishments with outdoor dining.

“We figured out 20 years ago that outdoor dining was important to people,” Barnett said.

And during the pandemic, it was a lifeline for establishments statewide that were reeling from lockdown and social distancing, he said.

The Lamont administration’s executive order helped expedite the ability for restaurants to operate or expand outdoor dining, moving onto sidewalks, into parking lots and even taking over some streets.

It was the silver lining to the pandemic, state officials said.

“It's been a lifesaver, and without question saved hundreds if not thousands of restaurants through this process,” said Scott Dolch, president of the Connecticut Restaurant Association.

“Outdoor dining was never really a big part of the discussion, and that's changed tremendously,” he said.

Resources are essential as the restaurant industry continues to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

And while beneficial, the undertaking to move operations outdoors during a pandemic was still massive.

Restaurateurs struggled with staffing issues, supply shortages and state mandates that changed almost daily.

Barnett said he rented 31 tents for outdoor areas across his nine restaurants when they were allowed to reopen three years ago. He eventually purchased the tents for roughly $100,000.

“We made an investment in that and it has been successful for us,” he said.

In return, municipalities, Barnett said, have been sympathetic and worked with restaurants to allow them to set up and now keep their outdoor areas.

Outdoor dining cooks up vibrancy

Connecticut restaurants make up 10% of the state’s economy, according to the Connecticut Restaurant Association, and restaurants contribute to a community’s vibrancy as well as employing tens of thousands of state residents.

Dolch said he hopes this is the future of expanded outdoor dining for years to come.

“I think everyone sees the benefit that it brings, whether you're a restaurant or you're the town officials seeing the tax dollars and culinary tourism, or people wanting alfresco dining,” he said.

Barnett and other restaurateurs recognize the new approval process as a necessary step to keep outdoor dining available in a safe manner.

Only the Wood ‘n Tap Wallingford location will be subject to the new application process after May 1 because Barnett set up an accessory outdoor area there during COVID.

His other locations already featured permitted outdoor areas, and those spaces are not subject to the new permitting process under Public Act 22-1.

Viron Rondo has owned Cheshire’s Viron Rondo Osteria for nine years, completing the expansion of his outdoor area in 2019.

Now, the 6,000-square-foot outdoor area surpasses the 5,000-square-foot indoor space, not including two kitchens that span a total of 5,000 square feet.

Rondo said he can accommodate 380 patrons outdoors and 350 inside. His staff of 115 grows to 130 in the summer months.

“So when COVID hit, we already had a fabulous outdoor space, perhaps the largest in the area,” Rondo said.

His outdoor dining business increases by 50% or more when the weather is agreeable, and he keeps it available as an option –- weather permitting under covered areas with space heaters – all year long.

Outdoor dining is still a popular option for those who may not be comfortable dining indoors, or who just enjoy an outdoor setting while dining, he said.

New Haven added year-round dining, an option for which restaurants still have to apply, because "we've heard from a lot of residents and businesses that it's really important to help support their businesses and provide more options for people," Elicker said.