Outdoor Space Approved For 4 Reading Businesses

READING, MA — The Community Planning and Development Commission on Wednesday approved four applications for outdoor business use under a new zoning bylaw passed by Town Meeting this week.

The bylaw pertains to outdoor commerce and dining, establishing a seven-day notification period for abutters. A motion to require candidates for outdoor commerce to return annually for approval was narrowly defeated, CPDC member Heather Clish noted.

Three of the applications were for restaurants – Mandarin Reading, Christopher's Restaurant and Fuddruckers – while the fourth was for fitness studio Tread at the Mill.

Tread at the Mill owner Lori Haverty described some of the issues her business faced during the pandemic. Her two Reading locations remained closed throughout, and the Winchester studio only operated at 20 percent capacity once restrictions were eased on gyms.

"We were below water for the entire year," Haverty said.

All three studios have since reopened, but they are only operating at 20 percent capacity. Haverty said she hopes running concurrent outdoor and indoor classes on Saturdays and Sundays will offset some of the business's losses.

The minor site plan review for outdoor weekend classes passed 5-0 after Haverty agreed to personally address potential complaints about the volume of music.

The plan for Christopher's Restaurant, which looks about the same as last year's with two additional two-person tables, was also approved by a 5-0 vote. The restaurant will provide full-service dining outside.

At Mandarin Reading, nine parking spaces will be closed for outdoor dining use. The dining area will be separated from the lot using 200-pound planters with planks of wood 6-8 feet apart. It will have a maximum capacity of 32 people, supplementing the 65-person capacity limit indoors under current COVID-19 rules.

The plan was approved 5-0.

Fuddruckers, which also had its application approved by a unanimous vote, will install five tables with 18 total seats on the sidewalk outside the restaurant. There was some discussion over whether the space could be developed into a permanent outdoor seating area, but it will remain temporary for now.