Peabody Makes A Month Out Of Restaurant Week

PEABODY, MA — While Salem may not be opening its arms to the typical Halloween crowds this season, businesses in Peabody are quite happy to have visitors looking to make a run to the North Shore stop there for a meal instead.

Several breweries, coffee shops and restaurants are even offering deals to get you in their doors as part of Dine-Out Peabody Month in October. What has traditionally been a weeklong string of fixed-prices specials and other discounts at city establishments leading into the International Festival in September was expanded to the entire month this fall after that festival was canceled to help businesses dealing with lost revenue from the spring shutdown and capacity restrictions due to the coronavirus health crisis.

"We are trying to encourage local folks and those in surrounding towns to patronize these businesses," Peabody Main Streets Event Coordinator Lisa Geici told Patch. "With the giveaways and discounts people can mix it up, and it gives them the opportunity to explore places they wouldn't normally."

Fearful of overcrowding amid the public health crisis, Salem Mayor Kim Driscoll and the city have issued a series of parking and gathering restrictions in Halloween's unofficial hometown this month. The city is advising advanced-ticked purchases for attractions and restaurant reservations for anyone coming to Salem, while launching the "Turn Back Now" campaign to aimed at convincing potential visitors to come back to the city some other time.

But, other than residual traffic from those still trying to make the trek to Salem, Peabody has no such issue, and is encouraging those who can't make it to the Witch City to consider one of its restaurants in its place.

"If you can't get a reservation there, you can come here," Geici said.

With social distancing requirements, and other coronavirus-related restrictions, cutting down on capacity for most restaurants — as well as bars looking to operate as restaurants to stay open until there is a vaccine — businesses have been forced to get creative when it comes to maintaining revenue in the summer and fall.

Peabody has designated several parking spots on Main Street for curbisde pickup-only to help the takeout businesses, while some spots like Granite Coast Brewing bring in food trucks to satisfy the state's requirement since August that patrons must order something to eat to be served alcohol.

Now with the temperatures getting frosty, the challenge is to convince those who have been dining out to think about coming inside — with this month's discounts perhaps providing the push to give it a shot and test out the comfort level.

"They are a resilient bunch," Geici said of the Peabody restaurants. "Those who have the room have brought in tents and heaters to keep people outside. It will reach a point in the winter it doesn't matter if you start the restaurant on fire it will be cold out there. I have been inside to have meals at many of the restaurants and they've done a good job.

"They've really overcome the challenges with some creative ways while doing their best in keeping their staff safe, their families safe. I do give them a lot of credit. I don't think there are any safer restaurants anywhere than there are in Peabody right now."

Geici said some restaurants — citing already-reduced revenue over the past seven months of the pandemic — declined to participate in the fixed-price program this year, so Dine-Out Peabody was flexible when it came to the type of promotion participating businesses wanted to have.

"Some of them are doing the $20.20 meal — as if we really need to commemorate 2020 in any way," she joked. "But we let them choose what they wanted to do this year. For some of them nit was a percentage off or a discount during a time of day that is generally slower. Granite Coast is offering a special on a flight of their beers."

A full list of the discounts can be found here.

Geici said that while seasonal "events" — such as the "Nightmare on Main Street" — have been canceled due to virus, the city has had programs like live musicians downtown, this weekend's "Creepy Craft and Candy Hunt" and sold-out "Ghosts and Legends of Peabody" walking tour, and is planning some Christmas "activities" — such as public decorations and lights displays — to make things lively for residents and increase foot traffic for businesses over the next couple of months.

"It's been really great to hear that for some of them business is actually up compared to last year despite the closure of indoor dining with their takeout and outdoor dining business," Geici said. "Some of them were given the opportunity to do sidewalk dining and declined because their takeout business was doing so well they didn't want to lose the parking spots to tables and chairs.

"I've definitely gotten the vibe that people who are comfortable (dining indoors) are coming out to these restaurants again."

Related Peabody Patch Coverage: Granite Coast Tapping Into Ways To Keep Taps Flowing In Peabody

This article originally appeared on the Peabody Patch