Lee's Pint & Shell is planning to add more outdoor drinking and dining space — this time, above street level. The Canton bar submitted an application this month for permission to build a deck extending out from its second floor. Plans filed with the city's Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals show a 790-square-foot balcony wrapping around the Lee's facade on South Linwood Avenue and Hudson Street.

The second-floor space would expand upon outdoor seating options at the tavern, which already offers tables set up along the sidewalk. Diners have increasingly embraced outside options as a safer alternative for a night out amid the Covid-19 pandemic, and bar and restaurant owners across the city have said they're exploring ways to keep outdoor seating open well into the winter months. In Federal Hill, two Charles Street bars, Banditos and Wayward Southern Bar & Kitchen, won approval this month from the city's liquor board to add permanent patio seating attached to their buildings.