QUALITALY_128

April/May 202 2 IV MAGAZINE government decreed the end of the state of emergency for Covid, effectively putting a stop not only to free occupation, but also to the possibility, in many cases, of using public spaces. Local authorities have taken action on this issue in no particular order (see box). The restaurant owner’s dilemma is now this: is it still worth the cost of an outdoor area or is it better to save money, at the risk of losing customers (and places)? SOME SAY NO Let’s start right away by saying that the outdoor dining front is less cohesive than one might think. All over the world. In New York, for example, where the seating areas of 12,000 restaurants - even in winter, in the form of igloos and cottages - have transformed the urban landscape in the last two years, residents’ voices against “rubbish, rats, noise and less parking space” have been raised, pushing for more regulation. Beginning in 2023, the City Council plans to enact a permanent programme that will expand the space available to restaurants to include many of those granted under emergency regulations. At home, Quattroruote (biased, of course) complains of “the invasion of chairs and tables from bars and restaurants in the spaces usually reserved for parking cars and on pavements”. A word of advice: if you have space outside, you will need to manage your relations with your neighbours even more carefully and diplomatically. OPPORTUNITIES FOR GREENER CITIES The cities themselves have undergone a profound transformation over the last two years, both in the centre and in the suburbs. Greener, at times, and more inclusive, with an important rediscovery of common spaces, the strategic centre of community and sociality. As is outside the home. The outdoor area is therefore an opportunity, if managed well, to increase green spaces even in areas where they are almost non-existent, and to provide relief for urban flora and fauna, pollinators above all. The environment will be thankful. In short, it is not just a question of mere business and cash flows, as Aldo Cursano, President of Fipe Toscana and National Vicar of Fipe Confcommercio, confirms: “Bars and restaurants are an expression of the quality of the Italian lifestyle envied throughout the world. The city centres have already changed in terms of attendance, consumption is concentrated at weekends, and smart working has changed the way of living in the city. The most at risk companies have already closed down. We think that politics should accompany this historical change due to the pandemic, but also to the war and the new sociality, helping those entrepreneurs who have the possibility to stay in the market but need support. We consider outdoor dining to be a strategic tool for maintaining the network of services and sociality that enables the vitality of historic centres, as well as a fundamental support for keeping businesses going and enabling them to overcome this difficult time”. IS IT WORTH IT OR NOT? A first answer to the big question: is it worth investing in outdoor dining for restaurateurs? Federico Maggiulli of Il Cafetero, a small speciality café on the outskirts of Milan, has no doubts: “Of course I’ve decided to keep the outdoor area, even if you have to pay for it, because people are used to being outside and in the meantime I’m increasing the number of seats”. Cursano continues: “We were hoping for a free-of-charge system that would help companies recover the marginality lost in the past two years. Even if the state of emergency is over, the emergency for the economy is certainly not over. In two years, companies have accumulated a significant debt exposure that can only be recovered by satisfying the customer’s requests, which, moreover, have decreased as a result of lower spending power”. And among these demands is open air consumption. “The psychological aspect is fundamental: the customer feels safer and more relaxed when consuming outdoors, and this demand should be welcomed where there is the possibility. Today, the experience of an eating out activity is linked to the outdoors”. Fipe’s requests are now aimed precisely at safeguarding spaces: “ We obtained a waiver of superintendency restrictions until June: this was a precedent, now we are