Are COVID Outdoor Dining Setups Making A Comeback in NJ?

Is COVID outdoor dining making a comeback? It is for this New Jersey town! We all noticed that restaurants were implementing outdoor dining areas during the pandemic the get more business when indoor dining was officially off-limits for most.

Lots of small towns that are full of restaurants and bars even roped off certain streets to allow restaurants to provide outdoor dining areas for their customers. Red Bank, NJ is one of those towns and they are officially bringing back their COVID outdoor dining protocols.

Last week “the Red Bank Borough council voted to bring back the pedestrian plaza on Broad Street that was first established in 2020 to facilitate outdoor eating” according to NJ.com. This had me thinking, should other main street areas in New Jersey do the same thing?

Maybe just at least for the summers or on certain nights of the week. There’s something about outdoor dining that just creates a great atmosphere for special occasions, dates, anniversaries, etc. I’m all for bringing back outdoor dining, it may just be the only thing that COVID gave us that was remotely positive.

I remember going out in downtown Princeton during the pandemic days and some of the outdoor dining areas were decked out in pretty lights and decorations. Also, what is better than dinner and a view on a beautiful summer night?

Some restaurants even started to get extremely creative with their outdoor dining decor which was always fun to see. I have a feeling this will be a trend that will come back this summer!