WALTHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - The City of Waltham will vote Friday on whether to close its bustling Moody Street to accommodate outdoor dining, just like it did last year when restaurants were first given permission to reopen.
During the height of the pandemic, Waltham was the first city in the Bay State to completely close a busy thoroughfare to give its restaurants outdoor space to serve customers.
“Without a doubt, we wouldn’t be here today if we didn’t have outside dining,” said Tim Burke, owner of In a Pickle restaurant.
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy says she is “just trying to bring people together” but non-restaurant owners on Moody Street are not in favor of closing the area for dining all day, every day.
Dr. Jerry Bisantz, of Paris Eyecare, is not in favor of closing Moody Street for a second straight year because it hurt his store’s bottom line and inconvenienced customers.
“All day, every day? Sorry! Not a good idea,” Bisantz said. “I had to go run out in the back and take care of people from their car, dispense eyewear to their car.”
Burke says his eatery has put an array of indoor precautions in place but most customers are still more comfortable eating outside.
“It doesn’t have to be a we win, you lose sort of situation…All ships rise with a high tide,” Burke explained.
The city’s traffic commission plans to vote on the decision on Friday morning. If the closure gets approved, it will remain in effect from April through November.
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