Danvers Takes Steps It Can To Help Boost Restaurants

DANVERS, MA — There is little doubt small businesses — especially locally owned restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, coffee shops and other places that traditionally rely on people gathering indoors to keep those doors open — have been hit among the hardest of any industry amid the coronavirus health crisis.

While acknowledging there are no easy solutions as state capacity restrictions and social distancing mandates extend toward an 11th month, Danvers has come up with ways the town is hoping will give some of those businesses a boost until they can resume outdoor seating and perhaps relax some restrictions this spring or summer.

In December, Danvers waived renewal fees for alcohol and entertainment licenses for all non-package store license holders. The town has made it easier for establishments to modify occupancy licenses to allow things such as outdoor seating and parking lot patio use without having to go through a public hearing. This week, it launched the #TakeoutTuesday campaign in which each Monday the town will feature a nominated restaurant on its social media accounts and encourage residents to order takeout or delivery from that restaurant the next day.

"What's hard is that the pandemic and economic disruption is so big there is not a ton we can do at the local level," Danvers Town Manager Steve Bartha told Patch on Thursday. "Our business community over the past year has dealt with a lot of decisions made that have been hard decisions.

“This is a national issue. I think we at the local and state level do what we can.”

Bartha said the license relief and promotion to the extent it is appropriate are a few ways the town hopes to help. He said there have been discussions to hold a series of small business-based "events" at some point, but because of the uncertainty of the virus and vaccine timeline he is not sure what those will look like yet.

For now, the #TakeoutTuesday initiative asks residents to recommend a favorite spot in town through sending the restaurant information and any photos to Assistant Town Manager Jen Breaker, whom Bartha credits with being the brain child behind the campaign, at jbreaker@danversma.gov with "TAKE OUT TUESDAY" in the subject line.

A page with links to restaurants that are open for takeout, delivery and in many cases in-person dining can be found here.

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Bartha said that all restaurants were eligible for the fee waivers, license modifications and the promotions programs, but noted that three-quarters of the license holders in the town are small and family-owned business, as opposed to chain restaurants.

He credited the industry with working with the town make sure each one is in compliance with shifting state guidelines on capacities, food-ordering requirements and recent curfews.

"I don't think we've had to issue more than one monetary fine over the last year," he said. "We have had a lot of conversations about a lot of complex regulations to make sure we have compliance."

Bartha said town Economic Developer David Fields has been instrumental in being a local contact for small business when it comes to help accessing federal Paycheck Protection Program funds and other available grants and loans. Any small business needing assistance with access to relief funds can email Fields at econ101@danversma.gov.

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Bartha said that while the #TakeoutTuesday campaign is focused on takeout and delivery options during the winter, it is not part of "encouraging or discouraging" indoor dining while allowed under state guidelines.

"As long as Danvers restaurants comply with the governor's thresholds we have very little issue with that," Bartha said. "Our restaurants have all be very good at that.

"This is just something for residents who may be hesitant to go to a restaurant right now to remind them that they don't have to sit at a table to give them their business."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)