2 Upper East Side Restaurants Win Grants For Outdoor Dining Setup

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Two Upper East Side restaurants were among the 100 New York City eateries awarded grants this week to help them "winterize" their outdoor dining setups.

DoorDash's "winterization" grants are meant to help restaurants bring in business during the winter months while adhering to pandemic restrictions, according to a news release.

The food delivery service partnered with the NYC Hospitality Alliance to offer New York City eateries a total of $500,000 in grant money.

The two Upper East Side restaurants that received the grants are MazMezcal at 316 East 86th St. and Yefsi Estiatorio at 1487 York Ave.

"We thank DoorDash for their partnership in supporting restaurants and working to ensure that our industry can keep moving forward through this pandemic during the cooler months," Andrew Rigie, executive director of NYC Hospitality Alliance, said in a statement when the program was announced.

"The Open Restaurants program has been a critical lifeline to thousands of small businesses, and giving grants to restaurants to help them weatherize their outdoor dining setups and operate safely indoors will help many restaurants continue to serve their communities during the fall and winter."

Maya Kaufman contributed reporting.