Lambertville Pizza Spot Moving Outside For COVID

LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. — As coronavirus restrictions linger on, a Lambertville pizza spot is moving the feast outside.

Liberty Hall Pizza on Thursday will unveil The Side Street Eatery at Liberty Hall. The al fresco spot is a parking lot driveway entrance that's been transformed into a "dining oasis," serving Liberty Hall's Neapolitan-style pizza.

The new outdoor spot is large enough to hold more than a dozen picnic tables with seating for 70 people. It's located on the east side of the Canal Studios complex at 243 N. Union St., near the Roxey Ballet Company, Rojo's Roastery and Basil Bandwagon Natural Market.

"We wanted to provide a safe and unique dining experience and the City of Lambertville was very accommodating during the planning and approval process," said co-owner Chris Bryan. "We’re starting out slow. We have approval for up to 17 tables, but we are only putting out a dozen and seating a maximum of 48 people and seeing how that goes."

Bryan has spent most of the past four months baking and freezing pizzas for sale to his customers while also producing pizzas for weekly donations to area food pantries. He said the material to build the Side Street Eatery was donated by local lumber company Niece Lumber.

"We were thrilled to assist Chris and Liberty Hall Pizza on this outdoor endeavor. As a neighbor, we appreciate all that Chris and business partner Danny Popkin do for our end of town," said Marc Currie, president of Niece Lumber. "I was also very excited to help after all that Chris did for the Lambertville area food pantries during the COVID-19 crisis."

Liberty Hall also has whipped up two al fresco dinner package options to streamline the ordering and prep process. There is a Date Night For Two pack (two pizzas, one garden salad, two drinks and two mini cannolis and a Liberty Hall Pizza coupon) and a Classico Al Fresco pack (four pizzas, two salads, four drinks, four mini cannolis and a Liberty Hall Pizza coupon).

Guests will place their orders at the restaurant, then bring the food to the eatery area to sit and eat. Seating will be first come, first served with no reservations. Liberty Hall staff will sanitize the tables after each use, manage trash and recycling and monitor social distancing.

The outdoor eatery will be open 4-8 p.m. on Wednesday through Sunday. Guests will be required to wear masks to enter or exit the eatery and any time they leave their table.