Somerville Allows Restaurants To Sell Groceries

SOMERVILLE, MA — Somerville officials issued an order over the weekend allowing restaurants to sell grocery items during the coronavirus state of emergency. Restaurants will be allowed to offer pick-up and delivery of grocery items, but businesses that have not previously sold direct-to-consumer groceries must provide a detailed operations and safety plan for storage and distribution to the Director of Inspectional Services.

"Many of our local restaurants are hurting right now, but at the same time, grocery stores are seeing their supply lines disrupted and customers are understandably worried about being around crowds in stores," Curtatone said in a statement. "Allowing restaurants to sell grocery items address all of those issues – it gives residents more options when it comes to buying food, provides a new revenue stream for restaurants, and it takes some pressure off grocery stores and gives them time to restock."

Restaurants often use different suppliers than grocery stores and may be able to carry hard-to-find items that grocery suppliers have not been able to restock.

"This is a win-win-win idea that came directly from the community," Ward 3 City Councilor Ben Ewen-Campen, who worked with the administration to advance the order, said in a statement. "It will help support both local food producers and local restaurants, and provide more opportunities for people to pick up fresh food away from crowds."

Residents looking to find out which restaurants are offering groceries can check directly with restaurants offering pickup and delivery, all of which are listed at www.somervilledelivers.com. Starting later this week, the www.somervilledelivers.com site will also begin listing which restaurants are offering grocery service.

The website is a joint effort of the Somerville Chamber of Commerce, East Somerville Main Streets, Union Square Main Streets, Velir, The Welcome Project, and the City, aimed at supporting local restaurants and residents during the COVID-19 crisis. Restaurants wishing to join the site can find information at the City’s COVID-19 business support website www.somervillema.gov/CovidBizHelp.

For more information and regular COVID-19 updates, visit www.somervillema.gov/coronavirus and sign up for City alerts atwww.somervillema.gov/Alerts. We urge you to sign up for every alert method you are able to receive: phone call, text, email. Also follow FB.com/SomervilleCity and @SomervilleCity.