Hoboken Outdoor Dining Reopens This Week: Rules And Restaurants

HOBOKEN, NJ — Now that the state of New Jersey is allowing outdoor dining starting Monday, within coronavirus safety guidelines (see below), Hoboken has implemented extra measures to help businesses expand.

In a mile-square city with more than 130 active liquor licenses, the ability to serve more patrons was cheered by restaurateurs.

More than 50 eateries have already applied for and received city approval for expanded sidewalk cafes, "parklets," and "streateries," the city said on Sunday.

[Related: Hoboken To Reopen Its Playgrounds Thursday.]

Other establishments are still offering delivery and curbside takeout, since they had to stop their inside service in March.

Restaurants can only serve outdoors if customers' chairs are at least six feet apart, according to the state.

Hoboken's City Council last week adopted a Business Recovery Plan to clarify these and other rules and to add new features.

For instance, the city is waiving application fees for sidewalk cafes. For those who already paid for a permit, it will be credited to 2021.

Businesses can apply for "streateries" and other features here.

“We want Hoboken businesses to have as many tools at their disposal to expand outdoor operations,” said Mayor Ravi Bhalla last week.

Council President Jen Giattino and Councilman Mike DeFusco sponsored the ordinance to create the Recovery Plan.

Which businesses are serving this week?

Several popular Hoboken restaurants, such as Leo's Grandevous, Anthony David's, Hudson Table, La Casa, and Court Street, were planning to serve outdoors. Bwe Kafe and Anthony David's had already set up outdoor tables on Monday morning (see photos).

The city said that Leo's Grandevous, one of Hoboken's oldest restaurants and famous for its Frank Sinatra jukebox, has a capacity to seat 80 people at its outdoor area in southern Hoboken.

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Hudson Table, which offers cooking classes and takeout kits, planned to line up their tables alongside the 14th Street Viaduct. Court Street will seat patrons not far from the 100-year-old cobblestones on the alley for which the restaurant is named.

Not all local eateries have room to expand, though. Fork Hill Kitchen, a restaurant up the hill in Union City and owned by a Hoboken couple, won't offer outdoor dining, but said they will continue offering delivery and takeout.

"Like many other restaurants, we don’t have the room to expand to outdoor dining, and we eagerly await the governor’s permission to open indoor dining," said partner Brenda Griffin, "even though we expect it will be at reduced occupancy and with social distancing guidelines."

Among the guidelines approved by the city last week:

• The city will use "open streets" on weekends, closing streets for three contiguous blocks, to facilitate outdoor retail and dining with tables and chairs.

• "Open streets" are initially proposed for Sundays and Thursday evenings, but this may change.

• Daily outdoor sidewalk cafes can extend hours of operation by one hour on Thursday, Friday and Saturdays

• Sidewalk cafes can expand, so long as six feet of sidewalk width is maintained.

• Tables in sidewalk cafe must be 6 feet apart, measured from backs of opposite chairs to promote social distancing

• Businesses can use "streateries," outdoor shared spaces enclosed with barriers. Tables must be 6 feet apart.

• Businesses also can use "parklets," a seasonal public seating platform that temporarily converts curbside parking into a mini-park, enclosed with barriers.

• Businesses can display merchandise and signs in front of their stores.

• The application process will provide general design guidelines for sidewalk cafés, streateries, and parklets.

• Sidewalk café fee waived for 2020.

• City is exploring various options with the Hoboken Business Alliance and other groups to help subsidize the cost of the streateries, parklets, and open streets.

The restaurants will also have to comply with these guidelines from Gov. Phil Murphy’s outdoor dining executive order:

• Post signage at the entrance that states that no one with a fever or symptoms of COVID-19 should enter the food or beverage establishment

• Limit seating to a maximum of eight customers per table and arrange seating to achieve a minimum distance of 6 feet between parties

• Rope off or otherwise mark tables, chairs and bar stools that are not to be used

• Demarcate 6 feet of spacing in patron waiting areas

• Provide physical guides, such as tape on floors, sidewalks, and signage on walls to ensure that customers remain at least 6 feet apart in line for the restroom or waiting for seating

• Eliminate self-service food or drink options such as buffets, salad bars, and self-service drink stations

• Disinfect all tables, chairs and any other shared items (menus, condiments, pens) after each use

• Install physical barriers and partitions at cash registers, bars, host stands and other area where maintaining physical distance of 6 feet is difficult

• Ensure 6 feet of physical distancing between workers and customers, except at the moment of payment and/or when employees are servicing the table

• Require infection control practices, such as regular handwashing, coughing and sneezing etiquette, and proper tissue usage and disposal

• Require frequent sanitization of high-touch areas like credit card machines, keypads, and counters to which the public and workers have access

• Place conspicuous signage at entrance alerting staff and customers to the required 6 ft of physical distance

• Require all food or beverage establishments to have an inclement weather policy that, if triggered, would require the food or beverage establishment 2 to adhere to Executive Order No. 125 (2020) and offer takeout or delivery service only

Additionally, according to the state:

• Businesses must conduct daily health screenings for employees (such as temperature screenings and/or symptom checking), and provide and require employees to wear face masks.

• All customers must bring and wear face masks when going to a business.

• The state also recommends that businesses and customers utilize reservations.

If you have a restaurant that's offering outdoor dining, and want to be added to the above list, click here. Be sure to include, in your email, your address, hours, and specialties.

Got news? Email caren.lissner@patch.com. Don't miss Hoboken and statewide news alerts when they are announced. Sign up for free Patch breaking news alerts and daily newsletters.

This article originally appeared on the Hoboken Patch