'It's Disgusting': Restaurant Owners Furious Over New Outdoor Dining Fees, Regulations

BOSTON (CBS) - It's the kind of lunch hour rush on a warm March day that Pagliuca's restaurant in Boston's North End neighborhood has been hoping for. Now looking forward to outdoor dining, that's been a lifeline during the pandemic, is coming with a big price. "Disgusting, I'll be honest it's disgusting," said owner Joseph Pagliuca.

Because North End restaurant owners like Pagliuca now have to pay $7500 for a permit to put seats outside, money the city says will go toward street and sidewalk cleaning and covering some lost parking spaces. But Pagliuca says the neighborhood is unfairly singled out. "My customers like to eat outside so I'm stuck. I don't want to pay it but I'm stuck," he said.

Like Pagliuca, restaurant owner Claudia Spagnuolo says she has no choice but to buy in and hopes it's worth it. "Not everybody can afford it. You pray about the weather, make sure people come every day, who wants in and who wants out, it's very difficult," said Spagnuolo.

It's not just the payments, Hanover Street will also become one way, and the North End won't be allowed to open outdoor dining until May 1 which is one month later than other neighborhoods. There is also the cost of required barriers. "That's another $1500.00 I have to pay to bring them in and take them out," said Pagliuca.

The new restrictions are also impacting other neighborhoods. Monumental Market in Jamaica Plain is also counting on a return to outdoor dining. But owner Kelsey Munger has just learned the brightly painted plywood barriers she installed last year with the help of local artists, as well as planters, are no longer acceptable.

She'll also have to buy or rent jersey barriers that are a new cost. "I believe it's $300 to $500, and I'll need six total plus make sure we have the appropriate insurance," she said.

She says what was a simplified application process with the city is now burdensome, and she'll actually lose seating. "Have to cut it in half, look for materials that are hard to find, doesn't make it encouraging to try to do it again," Munger said.