“Last spring, at the outset of the pandemic, our restaurants and community partners pivoted quickly to be able to set up safer outdoor dining areas to allow for more space between customers and greater air circulation,” said Mayor Kim Driscoll. “What we discovered was that these activations not only made our community safer, they also made our public spaces more enjoyable overall. I’m grateful to our City team, including the licensing and public works staff, and to the Creative Collective,

As an offshoot of the EDRR task force, Creative Collective was hired as a contractor by the City of Salem to facilitate the Outdoor dining and retail program as a direct response to the challenges these businesses are facing due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Collective was tasked to create a streamlined, transparent, and organized program to create outdoor dining options for over 60 restaurants scattered throughout all of Salem.