
Norwood, Mass. has come up with a brilliant way to support local businesses and bring locals downtown while keeping social distancing intact during the COVID-19 epidemic.
The town closed a part of Central St. between Cottage St. and East and Nahatan St. to allow for an outdoor dining space called Summer on Central. With many dining tables and a long stretch of green rug, the scene looks festive, community-oriented and, quite, frankly, one of the best examples of community outdoor dining I have seen, to date, in the Boston area.

Segueing to the beautiful Norwood Town Common and surrounded by historic churches, a movie theater and the grand Town Hall building, the outdoor dining area looks absolutely beautiful. What fabulous downtown ambiance! Additionally, Norwood is definitely a “foodie” town — there are many restaurants within a five-minute walking distance for easily bringing your takeout food back to Central St. Cuisines include traditional and contemporary American, Italian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Indian and Irish. Also, downtown: Daddy’s Dairy (right at the Central and Cottage Sts. intersection) offers 80 flavors of hard and soft-serve ice cream, SPoT! bagels, and Perks Coffee and Cheff’n & Eetinn Bakery, baked goods.

Summer on Central goes through the end of September. What a fabulous way to enjoy the seventh inning stretch of summer outdoor dining while practicing safe social distancing!
Additional reading
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Savoring a sweet candy house in Walpole, Mass.
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