Outdoor dining in Boston extended through New Year’s Eve, except in North End

Mayor Michelle Wu has extended temporary outdoor dining at Boston restaurants through Dec. 31 with hopes of bringing good cheer — and lots of customers — to city eateries through the holiday season.

But the North End is out of luck, with all outdoor dining already banned.

“I’m excited to extend this program through our holiday season and look forward to supporting our small businesses as anchors for our neighborhoods. Expanding to winter outdoor dining will help our communities stay safe, healthy and vibrant,” Wu said Wednesday.

The city had previously issued a Dec. 1 end date to the temporary outdoor dining order that allowed for restaurants to set up tables on private patios in front of and next to their existing buildings, and on public streets.

But the order leaves out one neighborhood: the North End, which saw its temporary outdoor dining order expire Nov. 1 with no extension.

“It’s tough that we’re not included in that,” said Anthony Caturano, owner of North End restaurant Prezza.

Caturano said he can’t understand why the neighborhood is excluded as the rest of the city gets an extra four weeks through the time of year when Bostonians are looking to celebrate with friends and hold holiday parties with colleagues.

“To make it fair, it would be good to make it available to restaurants in the North End, if people want it. I’m sure there’s a demand for it, otherwise they wouldn’t be extending it,” he said.

With coronavirus cases climbing again around Massachusetts, some diners may be looking to bundle up and eat outdoors — especially if they have holiday travel on the horizon. But Caturano noted outdoor dining can be a hard sell for some customers when temperatures really start dropping around New England.

“It’s a tough thing to manage in this cold weather. It’s 41 degrees right now, and when the sun goes down, it can be hard keeping everybody warm and serving hot food outside,” he said.

Wu’s extension will continue to prohibit restaurants from using electrical extension cords strung across sidewalks, tents on public property, and will require permitting for use of propane heaters. Once the first storm hits, snow removal will also go on as usual.

More than 400 businesses could benefit from the order extension, according to Wu’s office, and the new mayor announced she’s working with city departments and state lawmakers on a long-term solution for more outdoor dining around Boston.