The outdoor dining season will kick off in Boston on April 1, but not for restaurants in the historic North End. For Boston’s Little Italy, the outdoor dining program has been delayed by a month, and restaurateurs will also have to fork out $7,500 in fees if they want to participate.
For some restaurateurs, the new fee means the season is over before it even begins.
“Nobody is happy that we are the only ones that are being charged, and no one else is being charged for any reason,” Daniella DiPietrantonio, owner of L’Osteria restaurant, said.
Frank Mendoza — the owner of Monica’s Trattoria — said the $7,500 charge comes “at one of the worst months a restaurant could have” following two years of monetary losses caused by the pandemic.
“It’s $7,500 for the permit, and you gotta pay $4,000 for the barriers, and then any decorations or anything else you put on it, you’re close to like $20,000,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza said nearly 70 North End restaurateurs agreed to appeal to Mayor Michelle Wu to cancel the charge in a private meeting Wednesday.
“We are all unified as one, and we are not going to pay the fees. We’re going to take legal action if we are forced to,” Mendoza said. “We’re asking the mayor to disregard that and not charge us the fees, but if she doesn’t we are going to take legal action.”
The City introduced changes to the outdoor dining program following feedback from the local North End community, including complaints about narrow streets and traffic caused by restaurants offering outdoor table service.
Melissa Gaston, executive director of the North End Community Coalition, noted how local residents deal with infrastructure problems, particularly those who commute by foot or by mass transit, including cracked sidewalks and flooded streets when it rains.
“Some of the basic things that aren’t done in this area that should be that you see happen in other places would be great,” Gaston said.
In a statement, Mayor Michelle Wu’s office wrote that a committee — composed of local officials and community members — will discuss how to spend the money collected from the outdoor dining program “to help mitigate the problems that outdoor dining may bring to residents and our town.”
Gaston said she believes the new fee will not discourage restaurateurs from the North End since rental rates for commercial property in the area are “cheaper” than in other areas.
“It’s the new exciting area,” Gaston said. “I can’t imagine $7,500 is going to have a big dramatic impact on the restaurants where it’s going to make them raise their prices.”
But some North End restaurateurs consider the new changes to be discriminatory.
“Why aren’t we being treated like everybody else?” a restaurateur, who chose to stay anonymous due to fear of harassment, said. “We pay the same for our liquor license, the same for our health permits, the same for our entertainment license. Why should this be any different?”
With North End restaurateurs banding together in opposition to Wu’s new outdoor dining program, Mendoza shows no sign of backing down.
“I don’t think it’s fair that she just classifies us,” Mendoza said. “Complaints don’t justify payments. It justifies better leaders.”
