Tag Archives: outdoor dining

Restaurant Owners Feast On Outdoor Dining

The Planning & Zoning Commission seldom hears “thank you.”

Their decisions are often controversial — or humdrum.

But this month’s unanimous vote to extend outdoor dining until further notice was met with effusive praise from restaurant owners throughout town.

From Tutti’s to downtown (where the other day all the well-spaced tables outside Basso were filled) — and even spots like Sherwood Diner — outdoor dining has been an important lifeline during a difficult time.

Basso. on Jesup Green (Photo/Dan Woog)

If neighboring property owners give consent, restaurants can use otherwise unusable setbacks, as Rizzuto’s has done with their popular igloos.

Rizzuto’s popular igloos. (Photo/Joel Treisman)

They can use adjacent property too, as Rive Bistro does.

Restaurants can even request Board of Selectmen permission to put tables in street parking and on sidewalks. Railroad Place (Romanacci, Tarantino, Harvest) and Church Lane (Spotted Horse, Manna Toast) are prime examples of town-restaurant cooperation.

Romanacci’s Xpress.

The application process is simple. It’s managed by P&Z director Mary Young, with support from fire marshal Nate Gibbons, to ensure the safety of patrons and staff.

As the weather gets better, more outdoor dining options are sure to appear.

And who knows? They’re so popular, the P&Z may decide to keep them, long after the pandemic ends.

Roundup: Outdoor Dining Tents, More


COVID, colder weather, the holidays, heated tents — when considering outdoor dining, Westporters have lots to think about.

The other day Rowena Weems asked Bartaco about their tent. News reports said that outdoor tents with no open panels are no different than being indoors.

Chris Messina — Bartaco’s regional director — replied:

“We purchased a heated tent with 3 motors. This circulates air more than 3 times the amount of inside. These motors pump heated fresh air at all times.

“In addition, the tent is not perfectly sealed, so ventilation is actually even better than the already great specifications we have.

“The small tents in New York City with no heated units or ventilation are worse than indoors. That’s not what we and most restaurants are investing in.

“We’ve spent a large amount of money to ensure our guests are safe and we can all get through this together.”

“Here are Bartaco’s specs:

  • Total tent area: 33,972 cubic feet.
  • Heating system CFH (cubic feet per hour of fresh, hot air): 288,000 cfh
  • Air changes per hour: 8.5

“In a normal insulated building with HVAC, there might be 3-6 changes per hour (on the high side).” 


Sure, Thanksgiving is around the corner. We’ve already had our first frost.

But the recent weather revived thoughts of summer. Well, at least for this one guy at Compo Beach on Friday.

(Photo/Sheri Valente)


Thanksgiving is Thursday. Which means it’s time for … Christmas lights!

Andrew Colabella spotted these — the first of the season? — on Edgewater Hillside.

The hell with the turkey. Get out there and decorate!

(Photo/Andrew Colabella)


And finally … on this day in 1963, President John F. Kennedy was murdered in Dallas. There have been a number of turning points in American history. This was one of the most crucial.

 

Westport’s Restaurant Scene: What Will Winter Bring?

This week, Merri Mueller posed a great question on Facebook’s Westport Front Porch group: Where to dine outdoors in Westport? It’s getting cooler, she said — but she is not yet comfortable going indoors.

Suggestions poured in:

Pene e Bene. Rive Bistro. Pearl at Longshore. The Boathouse at Saugatuck Rowing Club. Little Barn. Harvest. Manna Toast. Walrus Alley. Tarantino. The Cottage. Rizzuto’s (where you can request heaters — and they’ll close your private tent flaps).

I’m sure there are more. I’m also sure that “06880” readers will add them in the Comments section below.

Rizzuto’s has always offered outdoor dining. There are more tables now.

But Merri’s query — and the responses — sparked an idea for more crowdsourcing here.

What else can Westport restaurant owners do for their customers, over the next few months?

The coronavirus will not go away. The holidays will be here before we know it. The weather will be much colder.

The speed, creativity and hospitality with which so many restaurants pivoted this spring and summer was impressive. With new delivery services, curbside pick-up, takeout and outdoor tables, they turned what could have been a disaster into an almost robust dining scene.

The next few months will be crucial for their bottom lines. With winter looming, it won’t be easy.

“06880” is here to help. Let’s hear readers’ creative ideas of what they’d like to see — outdoors and inside — at our many restaurants (and any other place that sells food).

You can be specific (mentioning one or two spots) or general.

So chew on this. Then click “Comments” below.

Church Lane, this summer. How can restaurants adapt this winter?

Pics Of The Day #1216

“06880” photographer Amy Schneider took a tour of the town’s al fresco dining spots. Here’s some of what she saw (pre-Isaias):

(Photo collage/Amy Schneider)