Maryland apparently forbids restaurants from having open windows, according to an article in TBD cited by the Tales of Two Cities blog.
The article concentrates on Bethesda where many restaurants have large windows that they open onto the street in good weather -- without the screens required by state law. Wordbones points out that state law applies here too. He says the new Stanford Grill in Columbia will need to adapt, but couldn't think of any other Howard County restaurants that have adopted the city-scape design of large, removable windows. Neither can I.
Wow,i had no idea that was the case.there are places in baltimore with open windows....and screens would COMPLETELY ruin the vibe at those places. It's the little laws like this that frequently make me ask...this is a free country, right? Butt out of the window law state legislature!
ReplyDeleteYeah, there are plenty of restaurants who open up the windows. There's some in strip malls that will keep their doors open as well when they have no windows to open up.
ReplyDeleteI guess it's a public health thing with flies????
Two words: nanny state.
ReplyDeleteYet another piece of evidence why the country's taken such a hyper-libertarian streak lately.
So do outdoor seating near a parking lot need to be in bubble so you do not inhale exhaust fumes while you watch your car while you eat?
ReplyDeleteI don't think they're worried about fumes. I think they're worried about flies getting into a restaurant and laying larva in the kitchen. Somehow, it seems less crazy when I type the words "larva in the kitchen" -- although that may just be my memory of the horrible Summer of 1989 when someone of left a cooler of ham sandwiches in a back room of a college newspaper. We wondered for a long time why giant flies suddenly filled the office.
ReplyDeleteThe rule is designed to prevent vermin infestation.
ReplyDeleteVermin infestation? So no large open windows in order to keep out Republicans?
ReplyDeleteThe state needs to mind their own damn business.
ReplyDelete