By Katie Farrell
Staff writer
July 05, 2009 10:08 pm NEWBURYPORT — At the growing number of restaurants offering outdoor tables in the downtown, the open-air seats fill up quickly. But at those eateries that can't yet offer a beer or glass of wine with the outdoor experience, customers are often disappointed, said Claude Elias, owner of Oregano Pizzeria and Ristorante, which recently added five outdoor tables along Inn Street. As Oregano awaits approval of its application to serve alcohol at those seats, Elias said some customers opt instead to go to one of the other restaurants in the city where they can have a drink outside, including Not Your Average Joe's, Michael's Harborside and the Black Cow, rather than moving inside the restaurant. Oregano and the Port Tavern on State Street are the latest to apply for licenses to serve alcohol outdoors, but just because there are many other restaurants that have been approved doesn't make approval automatic. Elias has been pursuing the plan for months, and said this week the state board wanted to see some changes with an egress door. "I'm hoping within four weeks, everything will be done," he said. As more restaurants seek permission to serve food and alcohol outside, the city is being careful about keeping sidewalks open and making sure alcohol sales are regulated. Ultimately, the applications must be approved by the City Council, the city's License Commission and the state's Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. By having the option to have a glass of wine or beer with their meals, diners will have a more "European feel" at the Italian-style restaurant, Elias said. Peggy Brown, the chairwoman of the city's License Commission, said this week a restaurant owner looking to serve alcohol outside must show the board where a barrier will go to enclose the area from the public way. The manager or restaurant personnel must also clearly have a view of the alcohol service, she said. The board will also make sure concerns are addressed, such as whether it would be easy for someone sitting in the outdoor area to "pass off" a drink to someone on the street, or if the restaurant is in a residential area, guaranteeing that the outdoor seating area won't be too loud or rowdy. "We have to be just a little bit more vigilant on how it's going to be," Brown said. Kathleen O'Connor Ives, who is chairwoman of the City Council's Licenses and Permits committee, said the council's main role when approving an outdoor seating application is to make sure that the sidewalk is large enough to accommodate the area and that barricades are in place in the instances where alcohol is served. The main goal of the council, she said, is to ensure that outdoor seating won't cause a bottleneck or impede pedestrian traffic. That was the reason the council last year banned a number of businesses from placing A-frame signs at street corners hoping to lure customers down the side streets. "We are definitely working together," O'Connor Ives said of her committee and the License Commission. Outdoor seating applications are being updated to ask the applicant if he or she intends to serve alcohol in the outdoor area. Dermot Bolger, co-owner of the Port Tavern, had new full-length patio windows installed last week, a part of the plan to build up the outdoor seating area. The dinner crowd wants to be able to sit outside and have a drink with their meal, Bolger said, saying that outdoor seating areas are gaining popularity across cities. By offering outdoor seating at the Port Tavern, that end of State Street will see increased business for both the restaurants and shops, Bolger said. "We won't be the poor cousin to the waterfront anymore," he said. Bolger said he has no qualms about serving alcohol outside and whether patrons would buy a drink and pass it to a minor. "That doesn't happen in Boston or any major cities," he said. "It just doesn't happen." With the new windows, the staff, servers and managers will have a clear view of the outside, he said, adding that the outdoor area will close at 10 p.m., the time when most of their late-night customers arrive. Port Tavern closes at 12:30 a.m. Bolger said he hopes to have gained all the needed approvals to start serving alcoholic beverages outside in August. Mayor John Moak said last week he supports the restaurants serving alcohol in an outdoor seating area, as long as it's monitored properly. With a barrier in place and staff being able to watch the service, Moak said outdoor seating adds an element to the city and is something that is done elsewhere. "They do it in Europe, they do it in many other communities," Moak said. "It just adds so much more life to the downtown."
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