Matunuck Oyster Bar could reopen temporarily outdoors this summer. Here's how.
The bills, H6392 and S1139, allow any licensed food service establishment closed by a flood, fire or other "casualty" to provide outdoor dining services for 18 months, or until the outdoor structure is rehabilitated. The temporary outdoor restaurant would need municipal approval but would not require any further relief from local ordinances and codes.
Introduced respectively by Rep. Carol Hagan McEntee and Sen. Susan Sosnowski, both of South Kingstown, the bills do not mention Matunuck Oyster Bar by name but are clearly intended as a response to the May 20 fire.
"The legislation would allow the restaurant to serve customers across the street in a parking lot that is owned by Perry Raso, who owns Matunuck Oyster Bar," a news release announcing the bills said, and would "keep 50 employees of the restaurant working during the busy summer months."
McEntee described the legislation as "the least we could do to help weather the difficulties resulting from the fire, including keeping some of the restaurant's workers employed during the busy summer season.
Sosnowski said the idea of temporary outdoor operations is built on the "Take It Outside" laws pioneered during the COVID pandemic.
House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi "pledged his strongest support" for the bill in a post on the social media site X, leaving little doubt that it is expected to pass before the end of the annual General Assembly legislative session.
The bills would allow Matunuck Oyster Bar to serve alcohol while open in the parking lot.
The provisions of the bill would expire June 30, 2027.
Hearing on the legislation are scheduled in the House Small Business Committee and Senate Housing Committee Tuesday, June 10.
Raso has vowed to rebuild the restaurant on Succotash Road off Potter Pond.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Matunuck Oyster Bar could reopen outdoors this summer under new bills
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