Restaurant fads come and go. Remember when quiche was trendy? The arrival of blackened fish or molten chocolate cake or sun-dried tomatoes (hopefully, not all on the same dish)? The hospitality industry is highly competitive and woe to the restaurant owner not constantly looking to sate the public’s evolving appetites — or thirsts. Yet one of the industry’s biggest trends of the last several years didn’t arrive at the table so much as under and around it.

The rise of parklets — outdoor seating areas often occupying adjacent parking spaces and sidewalks and defined by platforms, tents, umbrellas, planters and the like — proved a salvation for many eateries during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concerns about spreading the potentially deadly virus in 2020 were greatly ameliorated by keeping customers in open air. Along with a boost in takeout sales, the trend proved the salvation for any number of Baltimore restaurants from Patterson Park to Federal Hill to Roland Park and beyond. Kudos to city officials for quickly devising a regulatory program to permit them.

Yet like all good foodie fads, customers may be souring a bit on sitting under the canopy with the distinct sounds and smells of automobiles in the air. As recently reported by The Sun’s Amanda Yeager, parklets are lately getting mixed reviews. Some restaurant owners say they remain essential. Others say it’s time to put them away and return those parking spaces to good use. And no place in the city is that ambivalence better on display than in Fells Point, where parking is often at a premium but outdoor dining remains broadly popular.

While we would never begrudge a chef-owner his personal druthers (watching back episodes of “The Bear” has only reinforced our empathy for those who labor in what has always been a demanding business), we will not shed a tear for scrapped parklets any more than we cried over lost fondue pots after that trend peaked in the 1970s. Hail to thee, parklet, for keeping our dining spots in business and their customers out of the emergency room, at least until vaccines came along.