City officials pulled up a chair outside Salsa’s Mexican Restaurant in Fair Haven Thursday to celebrate the start of a new and expanded outdoor dining season and the launch of a new year-round outdoor dining initiative.
Mayor Justin Elicker along with city and state economic development officials feted Salsa’s owner Juana Ramirez as a top restaurateur and one of the first to offer outdoor dining this season.
The near 90-degree weather made the spring day feel more like summer, as two outdoor tables were shaded by colorful umbrellas where officials and guests enjoyed the cuisine.
Salsa’s, like other restaurants around the state, took advantage of COVID-era executive orders allowing outdoor dining during the pandemic.
Officials said it was that stipulation that allowed many to resume table service in the warmer months over the last three years.
In 2022, around 35 establishments participated in the city’s outdoor dining program.
Salsa’s, which opened in 2006, added outdoor seating in 2020 during the pandemic thanks to an infrastructure grant from the city’s “Together New Haven” program.
Three years later, Salsa’s is in the process of expanding into the neighboring retail space at 97 Grand Ave., thanks to the restaurant’s continued success.
Outdoor dining has been a popular choice among patrons and restaurant owners as a way to expand their table count, “and added a new vibrancy to many city streets,” Elicker said.
Restaurant owners got creative during COVID, with outdoor dining options such as repurposed parking spaces and sidewalks, even privately-owned lots.
As the executive orders are set to expire at the end of this month, officials are expanding the 2023 outdoor dining season by a month, starting April 1 instead of May 1, and running through Nov. 30.
Some 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.
The launch of the outdoor dining season also coincides with New Haven Restaurant Week, which runs from April 16-21, featuring 24 participating restaurants offering special fixed price and multi-course menus and deals.
