Outdoor Dining Could be Coming to 3 More Downtown Restaurants

Three downtown Beverly restaurants are in line to give full-service outdoor dining a chance this summer before the city sets up permanent rules about using sidewalks as dining space.

The restaurants that will take place in the trial are Prides Osteria, E.J. Cabot’s and a new pizza restaurant Prides Piccola Napoletana.

E.J. Cabot's proposes 20 outdoor seats at five tables from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. each day.

In all cases, the sidewalk needs to remain at least three feet wide to meet Americans with Disabilities requirements.

Prides Osteria plans 24 outdoor seats at six tables and has not specified the days and hours it plans to serve outdoors. Down the street at Prides Piccola Napoletana - which has the same owner, Michael Magner, as Prides Osteria - 16 seats at four tables are planned.

“Outdoor full-service dining would really make a different in downtown Beverly,” said Gin Wallace, executive director of Beverly Main Streets.

An Outdoor Dining Committee has looked at the issues involved in using public sidewalks for dining.

“We did a lot of research on this,” said Joyce McMahon, who works on economic development for the city, focused on downtown.

McMahon said the committee checked with most city department heads and other communities with outdoor dining before coming up with an pilot program for outdoor dining.

“I think it is great news,” City Council President Paul Guanci said, noting the popular of outdoor dining in Boston, Newburyport and Salem.

The program applies only to restaurants that want to use public property for outdoor dining. Restaurants – such as Chianti’s and Kitty O’Shea’s – do not need special city approval to serve patrons outdoors on its own property.

The trial period is planned to run from June 1 through Oct. 15. After that, the City Council is expected to review, revise and approve a permanent city ordinance that would regulate outdoor dining in time for summer 2014.