Restaurants are starting to feel like restaurants again, at least from the outside. 

Across Dartmouth, many local eateries opened to welcome mask-wearing patrons back to their outdoor spaces with slight modifications to allow social distancing as part of two of Governor Charlie Baker’s reopening plan. 

As of June 8, restaurants are allowed to reopen for outdoor dining. Some local eateries opened immediately, while others are still working on plans as they await reopening guidance from the state and town. 

At Cask & Pig, front of house manager Joshua Sanchez and his staff were all set for opening after months of only doing curbside pickup. 

With socially-distanced outdoor seating on its patio and regular sanitization, the restaurant opened on June 8.

“We’re very excited to be open,” he said. “It’s nice to get back to some normalcy and serve our guests, even if it’s with our masks on.”

In addition to increased cleaning, the restaurant created additional outdoor seating by placing some astroturf on what Sanchez said was an underused walkway. 

Customers were also happy to be able to get some dining. New Bedford resident Janice Bessette said she was just happy to get out of her home after months of staying indoors.

“I always said I never thought I’d sit outside on Route 6, but it’s not bothering me today,” she  joked.

Farm & Coast in Padanaram was also open for outdoor dining. Manager Mimi Powell said that while things were slow, there were some customers taking advantage of the outdoor seating and embracing added safety precautions.

“People are just trying to get used to new life again,” she said.

In addition to outdoor dining, Powell said Farm & Coast has contactless pickup at a window across the street.

Some restaurants, such as Joe’s Original on State Road — formerly Not Your Average Joe’s —  are currently working to have outdoor seating in its parking lot. 

Co-owner Steve Silverstein said that he’d spent $4,000 on water-filled jersey barriers used to demarcate the new dining area from parking, along with an air purification system for when indoor dining starts up again.

He added that he planned to reopen June 10, but was awaiting a permit to allow the restaurant to add outdoor seating in a newly painted part of the parking lot.

In a somewhat heated exchange at a June 8 Select Board meeting, Safety Officer Joe Vieira noted that before he could sign off on the permit, Silverstein would have to fix the barriers to each other or to the pavement to prevent them from moving if struck by a vehicle.