Skip to Content
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Streetsblog San Francisco home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

SEE IT: Boston’s Curbside Eateries are Amazing

Saving Boston’s restaurant industry … one parking space at a time. Photo: Clarence Eckerson Jr.

Call them "COVID huts" or "streeteries" — but they are saving the restaurant industry while also improving our cities.

Our Streetfilms colleague went to Boston earlier this month to see how Beantown is recovering from the pandemic — and he found that restaurateurs in the North End — typically a car-choked area with little pedestrian space — have finally realized that curbside space is better when it's used for feeding customers, not storing cars.

Check out his latest mini-documentary here:

Obviously, Boston isn't the only city in the country that's figured out the benefit of reusing the curb for more important purposes. As our colleagues in New York, Chicago, and other places have pointed out, outdoor dining is a great thing when done right.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog San Francisco

Op-Ed: It’s Time to Extend the Central Subway to North Beach

There are abandoned tunnels under Stockton Street: here’s how they could transform San Francisco’s subway system.

May 8, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: ‘Normal’ is Not Correct, Someone Died Here

After a crash, the debris is quickly cleaned up and everyone moves on (usually too quickly). But these two experts are asking us to all slow down.

May 8, 2025

LA Metro Names Former SFPD Chief Bill Scott as Chief of Police

Chief Scott and Metro leadership emphasized that keeping Metro transit safe would require a multi-faceted approach that included the deployment of officers as well as collaboration with the community, ambassadors, and service providers. "Sometimes enforcement is the answer," Scott said. "Sometimes it's not."

May 7, 2025
See all posts