New Requirements Force Some Jamaica Plain Restaurants To End Outdoor Dining
BOSTON (CBS) - It's time to get the propane heaters ready for the start of outdoor dining for Jamaica Plain restaurant owner David Doyle. Stacked up alongside his restaurant Tres Gatos are the Jersey barriers he had to purchase to protect the seating. "The cost of the Jersey barriers and increased insurance is around $4500," said Doyle.
He may not have to pay a fee to the city like restaurants in Boston's North End, but there are new costs all Boston restaurants will have to shoulder this year. He can no longer use the pallet walls that were built, decorated, and installed last season. "For us the first hard surprise was that was a lost investment," Doyle said.
A spokesperson for Mayor Wu says the barriers provide better protection, but they'll also cost Doyle some lost seating on the sidewalk due to their size. And with barriers now in high demand, Sam Jacob with Interstate Rental Service is trying to keep up. "We were not anticipating this until the new guidelines were released. In those few weeks the phone is ringing all the time for Jersey barriers," said Jacobs.
He's working with six different vendors to fill the orders and it's not always easy. "If they delay it could push the time frame out a week or two weeks," Jacobs said. "It all depends on who has it in stock."
Ginger Brown with JP Centre/South Main Streets says the new requirements are forcing some restaurants out of outdoor dining. "Everything they've invested in the last two years is now lost. They have to create new outdoor furnishings and new barriers. At least three of the ten restaurants who did outdoor dining last year will no longer be able to," said Brown.
Restaurant owners like David Doyle are hoping the investment is going to pay off. "A big question for us, especially with the investment in new barriers, is can we count on the program coming back?" Doyle said.
