Morristown Outdoor-Dining Rule Staying In Place Through October

MORRISTOWN, NJ — Although Morristown may be getting "back to normal," one of the rare pandemic perks for restaurants will temporarily remain. Morristown's eased regulations for eateries to open "sidewalk cafés" will stay in place through October.

The resolution, which Town Council unanimously passed Tuesday, continues the suspension of certain provisions for restaurants to serve on sidewalks through Oct. 31.

Normally, eateries would need to apply for sidewalk-café licenses through the council. But officials temporarily waived the process during the pandemic, giving the township administrator the authority to let existing restaurants expand outdoor dining.

The resolution, as written, would have originally extended the expedited through Dec. 31 — see page 58 of the meeting agenda. But 1st Ward Council Member Robert Iannaccone proposed an amendment to the end of October because of COVID-19's unpredictability.

"I think this is the right move, but I’d like to limit it to October 31st and then revisit it maybe sometime in October," Iannaccone said. "I think we’ll know by October whether we’ll have any resurgence or whether there will be any further issues."

Many New Jersey towns temporarily eased regulations for outdoor dining during the pandemic. State officials temporarily prohibited restaurants from serving customers indoors and then enforced social distancing and limited capacities. New Jersey dropped distancing and capacity restrictions for indoor dining May 28.

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