By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

(May 28, 2020) Meeting for the first time since March, The Berlin Historic District Commission last Wednesday approved a request for outdoor seating for Blacksmith Restaurant and Bar.

Restaurant owner Justine Zegna and Joe Pino, of United Restoration, asked the commission for permission to build outdoor seating and a deck to respond to the loss of indoor dining business because of the covid-19 pandemic. Restaurants in general have been forced to try to get by on carryout and delivery orders.

By Morgan Pilz
Blacksmith Restaurant and Bar in Berlin will install a deck and pergola after receiving approval from the Berlin Historic District Commission on Wednesday, May 20.

Pino told the commission that the plan was to use a concrete base on the property to be repurposed for a deck.

“We’re going to have the deck made out of composite boards,” Pino said. “We’re going to build a pergola on top of the deck … we’re going to put roofing to [keep] the water off the deck if we need to. It will at least allow [Blacksmith] to have the outdoor seating capacity no matter the weather.”

Around the post, he added, would be a black iron railing.

“The purpose is to give some additional seating and outside seating,” Pino said. “You’ve got to have the space to stay alive in a restaurant.”

Zegna added that the restaurant would be adding somewhere around 10 seats outdoors.

“We’re thinking that if we added an additional 10 seats outside, we’d be about 30 percent of our capacity that we were last year using only the outside,” she said. “Right now, we’re looking at six feet in spacing.”

Zegna also mentioned that the restaurant would likely not be doing much services inside the restaurant during the summer, and would rely more on the deck and pergola.

After Councilmember Mary Moore asked what type of material the pergola would be made of, Pino replied that it would be wood that would fade into a gray color and then be preserved to match the building.

Chairwoman Carol Rose said she believed the additions would make the area look even more historic.

“[Currently], the area is not beautiful,” Zegna said. “I love the building. It does have this historic value, but when you look at it you don’t realize it, and I think this will bring people in to see … I think it will really make a difference in the building.”

Moore approved of the idea, stating that the restaurant was “a rugged, masculine building.”

Councilmember Robert Poli asked about the material that would be used for the roof. Pino said it would be corrugated but Poli felt the concept would be “too tacky.”

The Berlin Historic District Commission approved the plans for the deck at the restaurant, but asked Zegna and Pino to return with further details about the roof planned for the outdoor seating space.

The commission will meet again on June 3 to speed up the process as soon as possible.