BIDDEFORD — A new state law, and a new ordinance passed by Biddeford City Council on Tuesday, means that Biddeford diners may have more opportunities to enjoy meals alfresco.

Early this year, the Legislature passed a bill, LD 1738, sponsored by State Sen. Susan Deschambault, D-Biddeford, that allows communities to pass a measure that gives restaurants the right to serve alcohol outside at non-contiguous spaces.

“This law will allow restaurants that want to expand to outdoor spaces that aren’t immediately attached to their indoor, brick-and-mortar space in Maine’s beautiful summer months to do so,” said the bill’s sponsor, Democratic Senator Susan Deschambault, in a press release. “I’m glad this commonsense idea is now law, and I look forward to its implementation in the coming months.”

Currently, city dining establishments like Palace Diner and Elements can serve alcohol outdoors as they have space next to their buildings, others, such as Biscuits & Company or Elda, which are adjacent to sidewalks, could not. Downtown sidewalks are not wide enough to accommodate diners and passing pedestrians.

But with the new ordinance, which is a pilot program that will be in place during the height of the summer season from May 1 through Oct. 31, restaurants can petition the city to use a public parking space in front of their storefront to place tables, and will also allow their servers to cross the sidewalk to serve alcoholic beverages.

“State law allows you to go over public land to other public land” to serve alcoholic beverages to diners, City Manager James Bennett said.

“Our goal with this program, is bring some of our restaurants outside and create a presence on Main and our side streets,” Director of Planning and Development Mathew Eddy wrote in an email. “Our goal is to increase walking traffic, make connections between Main Street and the Riverwalk, and increase the number of activities in the downtown. Increased activity and visitors on the street will improve choice and increase the number of shoppers on Main Street, positively impacting our retailers.”

“When I’ve traveled to other cities I’ve always taken pictures that have that kind of (outdoor) seating and it adds so much energy,” Executive Director of downtown revitalization organization Heart of Biddeford Delilah Poupore said. “Our goal  is to make the downtown more exciting and inviting.”

One restaurant that could take advantage of the new ordinance is Elda on Main Street. “I’m really excited about it (the new measure), restaurant spokeswoman Brittany Saliwanchik said. However, since the restaurant is fairly new, it opened Dec. 5, she said “It is something we would consider doing next year.”

It could be good for the restaurant, she said, as it would allow expansion of dining space by a few tables. She’s please the law and ordinance passed, without that outdoor tables “wouldn’t even be option,” she said.

Others who have expressed interest in using the new ordinance to serve alcohol outdoors include owner of Biscuits & Company, Cowbell Burger Bar and Yeto’s, Poupore said.

Whether or not the ordinance will continue after this year depends how it works out during this trial period. As it is only a pilot program for this year, the measure will go before the policy committee after the fact. At that time, sections of the implementation of the ordinance that did or didn’t work could be discussed, Bennett said.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 324, or dmendros@journaltribune.com.