Eating al fresco: More than 100 Worcester restaurants have permanent OK for outdoor seating

WORCESTER — While the beginning of spring may have been hampered by bad weather, temperatures are starting to rise and skies are beginning to clear. Great weather to eat outside.

Restaurant customers looking to dine in the fresh air have plenty of options in Worcester. The city has more than 100 establishments that have received the city's OK to permanently offer outdoor dining.

In addition, Lou Roc's Diner, Vernon Hill American Legion Post 435 and O’Connor’s Restaurant & Bar recently got the go-ahead for permanent outdoor dining.

Cicero’s Cafe and Wormtown Brewery are scheduled to make appearances before the License Commission for permanent additions to the license.

Once outdoor seating on a public sidewalk is approved to become a permanent part of an establishment's license, they do not need to come back for renewals, the city spokesperson said. However, the establishments need to apply for a sidewalk obstruction permit every year through the Department of Public Works.

Approval process

Statewide, the future of pandemic-era policies that streamlined the process for cities and towns to approve where food and alcohol is served outside remain in limbo; the state reverted to the pre-pandemic process for the time being at the start of April.

Restaurateurs now face the traditional, usually longer, outdoor dining process. Both the municipality and the Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission are a part of the pre-pandemic process.

The streamlined language was first established through an executive order by then-Gov. Charlie Baker at a time when restaurants could not host customers indoors. State lawmakers generally agree on codifying outdoor dining licensing reforms, but the state House and Senate differ on allowing to-go drinks.

In Worcester, the 100-plus establishments with licenses that feature permanent outdoor dining include restaurants, bars and hotels.

Some of the properties with licenses allowing outdoor dining listed in the sheet are currently closed or have changed hands: The Worcester Beer Garden at 64 Franklin St. is in hibernation; the Citizen Wine Bar at 1 Exchange St. is closed; The District Wood Fired Kitchen at 90 Harding St. is closed while the owners explore "new concepts" for the location; Lock 50 at 50 Water St. has closed for the foreseeable future; 3cross Fermentation Coop at 4 Knowlton Ave. is now Wooden Bar; and The Blackstone Herbs & Martini Bar at 102 Green St. is now Ju's Bar & Grill.

Restaurant Row

Fittingly, the street known as Worcester's Restaurant Row, Shrewsbury Street, has the most licenses with permanent outdoor dining. There are 23 locations listed.

The Canal District, Park Avenue and downtown also feature several license holders with permanent outdoor dining.

On Shrewsbury Street, outdoor dining can vary from sidewalk table setups to full patios at establishments such as the Flying Rhino Café & Watering Hole and Redemption Rock Brewing Company.

Even more outdoor seating is in the works, with deck and patio construction underway at Pho Sure, the site of the former Wexford House at 503 Shrewsbury St.

While the summer months and warmer spring days are usually when restaurants open outdoor seating, unpredictable Worcester weather means anything is possible.

Depends on the weather

John Piccolo, owner of Piccolo's at 157 Shrewsbury St., recalls one year when people were eating outdoors on Christmas Eve.

"When the weather is nice, people love to sit out on the street," Piccolo said.

Piccolo's has about 15 to 20 seats for outdoor dining; the restaurant used to have a large outdoor dining area during the peak of COVID-19.

Piccolo, who is also the president of the Shrewsbury Street Merchants Area Association, said outdoor dining is a welcome addition to restaurants on the street. He added that Shrewsbury Street is conducive to outdoor dining with the foot traffic it sees and the view of the world going by.

"It's been a bonus. You add to your seating and you cater to people that like to be outdoors," Piccolo said.

While restaurant owners in Boston's traditionally Italian-American North End neighborhood have been in a heated conflict with Mayor Michelle Wu over the neighborhood being barred from sidewalk seating in part due to the neighborhood's narrow streets and sidewalks, Piccolo said the City of Worcester has a better relationship with the Shrewsbury Street restaurants over outdoor dining.

Piccolo said some of the best outdoor dining in the city happens during the Taste of Shrewsbury Street event in June.

Redemption Rock CEO Dani Babineau said the brewery, which opened in 2019, had always planned to add more patio seating. The larger patio space opened Oct. 2020 under the streamlined outdoor dining policy, with the brewery saying one of the first big events it utilized the patio space was Election Day for the 2020 presidential election.

A welcome spot for beer lovers on nice days, Babineau said, the patio also allows for more space where customers can have their furry friends. The brewery already allowed dogs in about half of the indoor space, but not on a turfed portion.

Don't forget the dogs

"We're known for being pretty dog friendly; this added a whole new element for people to hang out with their dogs," Babineau said.

Redemption Rock's patio also serves as functional signage for the brewery nestled in a less restaurant-heavy portion of Shrewsbury Street. Babineau said an artist associated with POW! WOW! Worcester designed a multi-colored mural on the patio with a heart at the center.

"Coming off of Shrewsbury Street, it adds a really nice, bright element for people to be able to see," Babineau said.

This year, Babineau said, Redemption Rock is considering changes to patio furniture and other visual improvements to the space.

The Downtown Worcester Business Improvement District is working with downtown restaurants on getting outdoor licenses and providing them seating.

Victoria Mariano, program director for the Downtown BID said the BID purchased tables and chairs for restaurants to use free of charge, and she would reach out to restaurants about whether they wanted to set up outdoor dining.

"It shows vibrancy. It shows that the district is alive," Mariano said. "The more people out on the street enjoying themselves, the better the area fares. It feels safe. It feels walkable. It feels like a community."

Mariano said she helped guide restaurants through the permitting process and created a how-to guide to help them.

"Restaurants are so busy. They've always got a million things to do," Mariano said. "While they might want outdoor dining it might feel like they've got to figure out the furniture; they've got to figure out the permits. With us assisting on this, it really helps them pull the trigger to do it."

The Downtown BID also used grant funding to build a sidewalk seating area, called a parklet, that restaurants can install so they have space for outdoor tables by the sidewalk. Mariano said Chashu Ramen & Izakaya had previously used the parklet while Ziggy Bombs used it last summer.

Ziggy Bombs owner Mike Devish said the parklet added attention to the front of his downtown location.

"It adds an option for people to sit," Devish said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Eating al fresco now permanent at more than 100 Worcester restaurants