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The Most Elaborate Outdoor Dining Setups In Pandemic-Era NYC
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 21, 2020
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 21, 2020
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Last week, both the state and the city released new guidelines to help restaurants navigate the new indoor and outdoor dining restrictions. In addition to confusing the hell out of everyone after incorrectly declaring New Yorkers could no longer use a restaurant's bathroom, it was made clear that outdoor dining structures may only be considered outdoors "if it has two sides which are open air." While some restaurants are reconfiguring their set-ups, others are... not so much.
Among the city's most elaborate structures is Il Violino, an Italian restaurant which has lived for just under 30 years at the corner of Columbus Avenue and 68th Street. They have really embraced the holidays with their outdoor structure, lining it with wreaths, giant nutcrackers, candy canes, bells, colored balls, a "letter for Santa" sculpture — a Covid Christmas explosion. Between that and the occasional live music, it's gotten plenty of attention around the neighborhood as a result.
"The idea of getting all this together is because we need to survive," manager Blanca Prez, who has worked there for about six years, told Gothamist. "Most of my employees are the ones who built the structure outdoors—they wanted to spread some happy holiday [cheer] during this season."
Il Violino has had multiple different outdoor setups—from umbrellas to tiny houses—which they've updated every season since the pandemic began, both in the roadway of Columbus and on the sidewalk on 68th Street. The city didn't approve them having the sidewalk setup this winter however ("Why, I don't know, but that's what they say," Prez notes), and they can only fit 12 people into the holiday-themed one on Columbus now.
Prez says that although they only have one side fully open on their outdoor structure, they open the windows all around whenever people are inside, which they believe technically is allowed—according to the state guidelines, "sides are not considered open if covered with clear plastic or other materials that restrict air flow," but there's nothing specific about windows.
"Every day they change the rules," Prez said. "But it seems like there's no one who really knows the rules, that's the thing. Someone could come and say, 'No that's not allowed,' and we'll remove it. But the idea is that air circulates, so if you open the windows it can move through."
Overall, the neighborhood has been very supportive of their efforts: "When they can they bring blankets, jackets, we supply some blankets, we're just trying anything, it's very hard, it's not easy, believe me," Prez told Gothamist. She said that they have three electric heaters set up for the season, but are nervous about how sustainable that is with their electricity bills likely going up.
"By mid-January, I don't think we'll be able to stay afloat without some sorta help," she added.
In the midst of a brutal time for the restaurant industry—with no federal aid seemingly forthcoming anytime soon—the city's Open Restaurants program has been a rare bright spot, with over 10,800 restaurants taking part in it so far. More and more restaurants have embraced outdoor dining as a viable option to attract diners during winter, but as result, many of these structures became more and more winterized over the last month—until they basically became elaborate indoor dining extensions.
The city has said that inspectors will be out checking outdoor structures to make sure they're abiding by the new guidelines, but that process was already interrupted by last week's snowstorm. It is yet to be seen whether the city will come down harshly on businesses in violation of the new rules with monetary fines or closures, or if they will be more sympathetic to small businesses dealing with confusing rule shifts every couple of weeks.
There are lots of other notable, elaborate, questionably legal outdoor dining structures still up in the city. You can check a few of the most creative ones out below, including Marea in Midtown (which embraced a plant-adorned vibe that gives the impression of a structure without actually having walls); Hütte on the Upper East Side (which is going for an "Alpine Dining" experience that probably needs to deconstruct now); Dr. Clark in Chinatown; and Hamilton Hall's individual booths in Hamilton Heights.
If you see a particularly elaborate outdoor dining setup worth featuring, send photos to [email protected].
There's also Guevara’s pink set-up in Clinton Hill; Boucherie NYC's extremely "cozy" outdoor dining in Union Square; and Aita's "gazebo" space in Clinton Hill.
Tagged
COVID-19
pandemic
coronavirus
restaurants
outdoor dining
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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