While some municipalities work to make it easier for restaurants to reopen with outdoor dining, the head of the Newton-Needham Regional Chamber said other businesses can help and that diners need to be prepared to pay more for a meal out.

Restaurants have been limited to takeout and delivery during the business shutdowns to slow transmission of the deadly coronavirus, but will be allowed as early as next Monday to serve guests seated outdoors. Chamber President Greg Reibman said Needham has already established three outdoor areas where the public can enjoy takeout meals and that Newton is starting this week to put tables and chairs in municipal parking lots near restaurants.

“Public spaces are a great first step. But restaurants also need support bypassing a maze of regulations so they can serve just outside their doors (with space to practice social distancing and other safety measures). That includes lawmakers on Beacon Hill who must vote to suspend the state’s arduous outdoor alcohol licensing process,” Reibman wrote in the chamber’s newsletter Monday morning.

Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said last week that she and the governor are working with the Legislature to “streamline the process for local permitting” for restaurants that did not previously place tables outside. Gov. Charlie Baker has said he “would fully expect … you’re going to see a lot of parking lots” converted to dining areas as restaurants are allowed to reopen.

“The rest of us have a big role too. Non-restaurants should allow restaurateurs to place tables in front of their storefronts. Landlords need to be flexible too. Neighbors will need to be tolerant of outdoor noise this summer. We’ll also need a campaign to emphasize that restaurants are back and safe,” Reibman wrote. “And we should all expect to pay more for a meal out, as costs and capacity make what’s always been a thin margin business, even thinner.”

The Baker administration released industry-specific guidelines for restaurants on Friday, but the governor said he will wait until Saturday to announce whether phase two of the reopening, which includes outdoor restaurant dining, will begin Monday or at a later date.

Meanwhile, a new bill from a Methuen state senator would let restaurants sell sealed containers of mixed drinks with to-go orders.

The emergency preamble on Sen. Diana DiZoglio’s bill (SD2952) says its purposes is “to expand revenue-generating options in response to the COVID-19 economic crisis for local establishments licensed to sell alcoholic beverages.”

Some restaurateurs and bartenders have been advocating to be allowed to serve cocktails with their takeout orders as well, a measure that has been allowed in some other states, including Rhode Island. An online “Cocktails for Commonwealth” petition had more than 400 signatures as of Monday morning.

Asked last Tuesday if he’d consider allowing to-go cocktail sales, Baker mentioned the new beer and wine law. “Anything beyond that would require legislation, and I don’t think there’s anything pending on that at this point,” he said.

DiZoglio’s bill, filed last Wednesday, would allow restaurants that are licensed to serve alcohol to sell “prepared beverage and mixed drinks” — defined as a sealed container holding between 4 and 64 fluid ounces of liquor and mixer, combined at the restaurant — to accompany to-go food orders.

The bill is cosponsored by Republicans Rep. Lenny Mirra of Georgetown, Sen. Patrick O’Connor of Weymouth and Rep. David DeCoste of Norwell, and Democrats Sen. Anne Gobi of Spencer, Rep. Mike Connolly of Cambridge and Rep. David Robertson of Tewksbury. The Senate on Monday referred it to the Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee for review.