In perhaps a show of political support, Councilor Ed Flynn met with North End restaurant owners suing the City of Boston over its decision to ban outdoor dining in the traditionally-Italian neighborhood, amid silence from many other officials.

Flynn does not represent the neighborhood, but came to the North End Friday afternoon to break bread with three restaurateurs Carla Gomes, Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde and Bill Galatis at Terramia Ristorante, and offer to broker an outdoor dining compromise between them and the Wu administration.

“My family has a long-time connection to this community, and I represent an area that’s probably just a couple of blocks away from the North End,” Flynn, whose district includes South Boston, downtown, and the South End, said after lunch. “I wouldn’t say I’m trying to broker a deal. I’m just trying to bring people together.

“I don’t have to be part of the conversation,” he said. “I can let city officials and small businesses deal with the details, but maybe just initially try to bring them together and let them talk amongst themselves.”

Over pizza, the councilor listened to the owners plead their case, which stretches back to a prior lawsuit that accused Mayor Michelle Wu of showing anti-Italian discrimination when singling out the North End neighborhood for a $7,500 outdoor dining fee in 2022, on top of a $480 parking charge.

The suit was later dropped by the owners, but now they’re suing again with a complaint that was filed this past January in federal court, after the city chose to ban on-street outdoor dining entirely in the North End in 2023, and again this year.

The new filing seeks damages that include reimbursement for those outdoor dining fees, which Gomes, who owns Terramia, described as being prohibitive to some North End restaurant owners, who chose to forgo that option in 2022 after offering it the prior year, when there was no cost from the city.

Outdoor dining was introduced during the pandemic due to indoor restrictions, and the three owners described feeling as if they were being punished for their success during that time, saying that the ban has made them less competitive with other neighborhoods.

The restaurateurs said their concerns have largely fallen on deaf ears, and that Flynn, who came on their invitation, was the first city representative to listen. They took aim in particular at Mayor Michelle Wu, who instituted the ban, and Councilor Gabriela Coletta, who represents the North End, both of whom, they say, have been unresponsive.

Coletta did not respond to the Herald’s request for comment, and has declined to comment in the past, citing hesitancy.

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“I think Councilor Flynn can make a dent in at least bringing back these issues to the rest of his colleagues, and let them know the facts,” Gomes said, rather than have them listen to the city’s “false narrative.”

There was even mention of Wu’s so-called list of critics sent to the Boston Police Department last year that included the “Mendoza Brothers from the North End,” one of whom, Mendoza-Iturralde, was present for the noon luncheon.

“We’re not thugs, we’re business owners and we want to be portrayed as that,” Mendoza-Iturralde, owner of Vinoteca di Monica, said. “The North End is an asset to the City of Boston.”

The neighborhood contributes heavily to the city’s meals tax and includes roughly 6,000 jobs, per Flynn and the owners, but the restaurateurs say the ban is making it more difficult to make a profit, and that outdoor dining is crucial to their survival.

“We’re not in business to make ends meet — We’re in business to succeed. We’re here to make a profit,” Mendoza-Iturralde said. “We feel that the mayor has been very unfair in the way that she’s managing Boston.”

Mayor Wu addressed the matter Tuesday on GBH’s Boston Public Radio, saying that the lawsuit “makes it impossible to have the kind of direct conversations” with restaurants and residents “needed to come up with a targeted solution.”

“I believe there is a solution for every space,” Wu said. “We had a compromise one year where there was a charge so that would offset the ability to provide parking and cleaning, and this, that and the other, and some of the same restaurant owners who supported the compromise then later sued us to get their money back.”

While unpopular with the owners, the mayor’s decision to ban on-street outdoor dining — due to quality of life issues such as increased noise, congestion, trash, and loss of parking — has been well-received by residents in the North End.

That makes it politically riskier for elected officials who represent the North End, such as Coletta and the at-large councilors, to speak out over Flynn, who doesn’t have those votes at stake, a City Hall source told the Herald.

Councilor-at-Large Erin Murphy said she wasn’t invited to Friday’s lunch, but would have gone to listen to the owners’ concerns if she had been.

“The ongoing conflict between the restaurant owners and the mayor’s office over outdoor dining has sparked tensions within the community, with residents and restaurant owners expressing valid concerns and perspectives,” Murphy said.

“It is important to me that all parties involved have the opportunity to engage in open dialogue with the city and work towards finding a sustainable solution that benefits the entire neighborhood,” she said. “No one should feel that the city is not listening to their concerns.”

Flynn contends that he doesn’t see the North End outdoor dining debate as a political issue, when asked whether his Friday visit could be seen as a show of support for the restaurant owners in their battle against the city. Nor does the visit point to his plans for higher office, he said, saying he won’t run for mayor in 2025.

“I think my position is there’s compromise and there’s an opportunity to come together,” Flynn said. “The city needs to understand the concerns of restaurants, and the restaurants also have to understand the city has a job to do.”