Worcester Business Journal

8 Worcester Business Journal | June 21, 2021 | wbjournal.com A new era for restaurants Worcester's temporary outdoor dining program is likely here to stay W orcester's restaurant scene may soon be able to take per- manent advantage of the expanded capacity and increased amenity offered by outdoor dining, as the pandemic-in- duced provision will continue beyond the liing of the Massachusetts' state of emergency on June 15. e Worcester License Commission voted on April 1 to extend the outdoor dining permits until at least the end of this year, aer more than 100 restaurants took advantage in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. BY KATHERINE HAMILTON Special to the Worcester Business Journal Now, the City of Worcester is devel- oping a permanent plan to put a similar program in place, with the hopes of rolling it out next spring, said Steve Rolle, assistant chief development officer. Some restaurants were hesitant to invest heavily in bigger renovations due to the temporary nature of the program. "We'll see restaurants willing to make some additional investments when they know they'll have the ability to do it season aer season," Rolle said. When restaurants began reopening under strict social distancing guidelines in June 2020, the City of Worcester estab- lished the Temporary Outdoor Dining Program to streamline the application and acceptance process for licensing to create dining spaces on sidewalks, park- ing lots, and green spaces. "is is a new era of dining in Worcester," said Oriola Koci, owner of Altea's Eatery on Park Avenue. "is is a wake-up call for my industry to utilize the space outside." While the temporary outdoor dining provision was largely put in place to give restaurants a safe and socially distanced place to serve customers, with capacity Volturno Pizza Napoletana on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester took advantage of the new outdoor dining options early in the pandemic. Greater Worcester hospitality workers Employment in the leisure and hospitality industry in Greater Worcester dropped by more than half when the coronavirus pandemic hit and has yet to fully recover. Notes: Greater Worcester is definited as Worcester County and Windham County, Conn. April 2021 numbers are preliminary. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Jan. 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 2020 Feb. Mar. Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. 2021 24,900 19,900 Leisure & hospitality workers PHOTO/GRANT WELKER

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