WEST HAVEN — An onetime bait and tackle shop on the city's shoreline, which has sat untouched with plywood-covered windows across from the beach for about a decade, could become a "community coffee shop and cafe" and rooftop seating under a new application.
City residents Peter and Melissa Milano filed paperwork to develop the 267 Beach St. storefront, which was Salty Dog Bait & Tackle and Frenchy's Bait & Tackle within the last 20 years before closing, under Big Picture LLC, which was formed in August 2023, according to state records.
According to public land records the property has been controlled by a trust since 2008, but plans filed with the city's planning office indicate that the applicants are currently under contract to purchase the property. The applicants did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The application details plans for the 1929 art deco-style building to be converted into a coffee shop and cafe with renovations to the interior, exterior and roof deck. The applicants also have applied for a 1,238-square-foot addition to the existing 1,170-square-foot building.
"The community coffee shop and cafe will focus on CT-roasted coffee drinks and will include a selection of other locally sourced beverages, such as craft beer and wine," the applicants wrote in an application. "A variety of snacks and baked good will be offered, as well. The design includes an espresso bar with indoor and outdoor seating accommodations."
The applicants said the expected business hours would be daily from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with up to eight total staff members and a maximum of four working on site daily.
The cafe would be among the first projects to be developed under new zoning regulations approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission last year to promote mixed-use development along the shoreline to promote housing and businesses that preserve neighborhood views of the water by limiting height restrictions; a key component of promoting that vision was approving regulations for rooftop dining.
An ongoing project to raise Beach Street, funded with money obtained by Mayor Dorinda Borer during her tenure as state representative in the 115th District, is nearing completion, but experienced some delays over utility work before the project was paused for the winter months. Mark Paine, the city's parks and recreation director, told the Harbor Management Commission at its meeting Wednesday that he believes the pause in construction is somewhat to the city's advantage as it will allow the infill to settle before the road is regraded.
The project to raise the road is a response to the changing shoreline, as the area has experienced debilitating flooding during several extreme weather events in recent years. The announcements of the second and third phases of the road-raising project brought with them a number of developers interested in redeveloping and reviving once-vibrant shoreline parcels offering food and lodging with views of the water, but plans to redevelop the former Chick's Drive-In restaurant and the Debonair Motel recently have stalled as developers await the completion of the roadwork.
Cathy Conniff, the city's assistant planner, said she believes the cafe concept would be a benefit to the redevelopment of the city's shoreline.
"If it all works out I think it'll be very cute and a change to that district,” she said to the Harbor Management Commission.
The application is due to go before the Planning and Zoning Commission later this month.
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January 05, 2024 at 01:56AM
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Shuttered shoreline tackle shop could become West Haven 'community cafe' - New Haven Register
"cafe" - Google News
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