Wakefield Outdoor Dining Gets Green Light From Excited Council

WAKEFIELD, MA — Outdoor dining is headed back to town.

The Town Council last week voted to allow restaurants to resume outdoor dining, which includes serving alcohol outside. Businesses will also be able to utilize outdoor spaces.

Outdoor dining is set to begin April 1 and can run through Dec. 31.

Town Administrator Steve Maio said he's been approached by many businesses and restaurants eager to get back outside, which last year proved a rare silver lining forced by the pandemic.

This year's set-up could benefit from lessons learned. The jersey barriers that protected outdoor eaters could be replaced by other barriers deemed safe by the Department of Public Works, but the bland jersey barriers could also be punched up by art students from the high school.

"That's making lemonades out of lemons," Councilor Jonathan Chines said.

Councilors Mehreen Butt and Julie Smith-Galvin noted the town should seek out more usable outdoor common areas where people can take a coffee or ice cream from a nearby store and enjoy it elsewhere. Smith-Galvin cited how Melrose used parklets last year — something Maio indicated could be on the way.

The Council voted unanimously on the order — or to "give Steve worldwide domination and license to work with the DPW on outdoor public space usage," as Chair Ann Santos aptly summarized.

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi. Subscribe to Wakefield Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook.