To Satisfy The Appetite For Al Fresco Eats, Village Board Considers Outdoor Dining Permits

Spring twilight stretches shadows later each day and balmy moonlit evenings are on the near horizon. The weather beckons diners outdoors as COVID safety restrictions, though loosened, remain in place. In Southampton, members of the Village Board turned their thoughts to outdoor dining and even the return of Southampton in the Streets during their March 23 meeting.

Last June, when Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he’d take outdoor dining “out of phase,” and allow it to commence during phase two of his four phase, NY Forward reopening plan, local lawmakers scrambled to conceive strategies for outdoor dining. The same day he announced the move, the state released a list of regulations for venues as extensive as a Pancake Cottage menu.

On the local level, temporary outdoor dining measures were adopted in Southampton Village and included a permitting process. With warm weather on the way, Village Board members mulled how they’d go about setting up approvals for outdoor dining this season.

Recalling last year, board member Mark Parash said, “We really had to think outside the box and provide multiple scenarios for residents, visitors, as well as businesses, especially in food service, to give them that opportunity to have a safe place to eat outside,” he said.

The appetite for outdoor dining has returned and it’s not going to go away, Mr. Parash, the proprietor of a luncheonette on Hampton Road, asserted. He and fellow board members discussed when to start a permit renewal process.

Since some places are still offering an outdoor option, members agreed to open the process right away.

Village attorney Kenneth Gray explained that outdoor dining that makes use of public spaces was permitted by executive order from the governor. He estimated the order will carry forth into the summer of 2021.

Last year, permits were given for a slight fee, Mr. Parash said. Officials could look at increasing it this year. Further discussion about the fees and permitting process is expected at the board’s meeting on Thursday, April 8.

Applicants looking to get a permit for outdoor dining submitted a layout showing how their tables would be set up. In some cases, restaurateurs were able to craft agreements with neighbors to use space in front of their retail shops.

Village business owners are lucky, Mr. Parash said, because the red brick areas adjacent to sidewalks and the curb provide extra room, but layouts need to ensure there’s space for pedestrian traffic.

Continuing the theme of outdoor activities, Mr. Parash said he’d like to consider repeating the street closures that comprised Southampton in the Streets last summer. The program involved closing down Main Street and Jobs Lane to vehicular traffic for a weekend evening.

The move allowed village restaurants to stretch seating into the roadway and take advantage of the extra space. One establishment, however, took too much advantage alarming observers by drawing a crowd of people yelling and dancing, despite pandemic precautions ordered by the governor.

Word of the unruly crowd, replete with a lack of mask and social distancing enforcement reached Governor Cuomo and a crackdown ensued, with certain establishments receiving multiple visits from representatives of the State Liquor Authority, some received citations.

Officials struggled with setting dates for Southampton in the Streets last summer, Mr. Parash pointed out, expressing the hope that dates can be settled earlier this year.

Board member Joseph McLoughlin reported he’d been approached by a restaurant owner who wondered if the event would be held this week. Comment was made about unsightly concrete barriers that were used. They’re not in keeping with the village aesthetic, and Gary Goleski, the village’s superintendent of public works, said he’d look to see if he can find something better. Mr. Parash likes the timber guardrails used on Front Street in Greenport.

Restaurants could opt to purchase guardrails or barriers, Mayor Jesse Warren suggested. He said he was “all for it,” in terms of the repeat of outdoor dining in the village.

As far as the closure of the streets, he said, “there are a lot of people in support of it, but we also have some people who would not be.” He suggested putting together a limited budget and hiring a company to help design the street closure so it’s well organized. Mr. Parash though that was a “fantastic” idea.

Last year was a challenging summer for everybody, Mr. Parash acknowledged. If coronavirus case numbers decrease and vaccination numbers increase, there’s a chance for a very successful summer this year, he said.