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Outdoor dining plazas are back. See which N.J. towns are closing streets again.
Updated 12:23 PM;
Today 12:00 PM
The outdoor dining scene in Red Bank last summer, where blocked off streets gave the city a block party feel. (Bobby Olivier | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)
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When the COVID-19 pandemic made indoor dining impossible in 2020, outdoor dining became crucial to keeping the food and dining industry alive. As restaurants looked to expand al fresco, towns and cities around New Jersey found a way to get them more space: blocking off streets to create pedestrian walkways.
The result was one of the few silver linings of the pandemic. Downtowns took on block party vibes. Streets once filled with cars were now lined with tables and customers. Floundering restaurants were given a much-needed life raft.
LOOSE ENDS 2/5: Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros ×
By Pam Hersh
The week of Jan. 18 was jam-packed with two emotionally intense celebrations: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 18 and the inauguration of the nation’s president and vice president on Jan. 20. There was a third celebration, however, that may have lacked the goosebump drama of the inauguration and MLK Day, but nevertheless was significant for Princeton residents. Over a period of three (half) days (Jan. 19, 21 and 22), Downtown New Jersey (DNJ) held its annual conference “Downtown Recovery: Survive and Thrive in 2021.”
Although I was unable to attend the remote conference in real time (I watched the proceedings afterwards via a link on the Downtown NJ website), there was an important Princetonian – Princeton Councilwoman Michelle Pirone Lambros – who was among the 170 attendees. Michelle – unlike me – is in a really good position to take the knowledge gleaned at the conference
NorthJersey.com
Walking down Main Street in Fort Lee during a recent lunch hour, few pedestrians paced the sidewalks on what would usually be a busy Friday afternoon. Inside bubble tea shop Q Tea Tapas, there was nary a customer. You don t even see anyone on the street anymore, said owner David Weng. There used to be people from the office buildings. They used to eat here during the lunch hours. Nope. No more.
Even as vaccines for the coronavirus roll out, businesses in New Jersey are stuck in limbo with many customers staying home, fearful of the second wave of the infection.