Corby Kummer: Should Outdoor Dining Be A Permanent Fixture In Boston?

Boston’s outdoor dining program, which launched last spring to help restaurants survive amid the coronavirus pandemic, will soon be back in action. Starting on March 22nd, most restaurants in the city will be able to offer outdoor dining to patrons until Dec. 1st. Food writer Corby Kummer spoke with Boston Public Radio on Friday about whether outdoor dining should become a permanent fixture in the city.

Other cities have programs in place that allow restaurants to expand into communal outdoor dining blocks, Kummer noted.

“Washington D.C. has the ‘Streatery’ program and New York City has ‘Open Streets: Restaurants,’ so I think it’s great, and that this is like Europe and the way life is supposed to be with dining outdoors,” he said.

Kummer hopes that restaurateurs and staff enjoy the outdoor dining option too.

“I hope it’s worth it to them to have the operations, and to have bought the equipment and street furniture to make these outdoor set-ups,” he said. “I think it has made life just significantly better, and with any luck, it adds seats, so it would be a permanent revenue adding generation mechanism.”

Kummer is a senior editor at The Atlantic, an award-winning food writer, and a senior lecturer at the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition and Policy.