By K.B. Sherman, Contributing Writer
Shrewsbury – The Shrewsbury Board of Selectmen granted conditional licenses at its Sept. 8 meeting to the proprietors of a proposed new Hooters Restaurant to be located at 291 Boston Turnpike Rd.
For the past several months, Marc Phaneuf, Jr. and representatives of his company, Phancon, Inc., have been meeting with various town boards as they pursue the necessary approvals to open the restaurant. The Sept. 8 meeting was a continuation of a public hearing held Aug. 11 to request all alcohol pouring and common victuallers licenses.
The conditional licenses were granted pending approval of the site plan by Shrewsbury officials and approval by the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) in Boston.
A different issue of contention with some neighbors who live near the restaurant is the anticipated screening, fencing, and lighting on the property. The restaurant – a tenant of the property – is restricted to making such improvements on its leased property and not infringing upon neighboring properties.
At the Sept. 8 hearing, the Hooters management team indicated its flexibility in assuaging neighbors’ concerns. Accordingly, signage facing neighbors will be indirectly lighted rather than directly illuminated. Garbage pickup will be after 7 a.m. on weekdays and after 8 a.m. on weekends. The restaurant will not open until 11:00 a.m. seven days a week.
The remaining issue was that of the official site plan approval by the Planning Board and certification of such by the Town Clerk.
Chair Moria Miller stated that official notification of the Planning Board’s approval of the site plan had not yet reached the selectmen’s office. Selectmen James Kane said that this was a requirement for moving forward and suggested that further action on Hooters’ licenses be delayed until possible appeals of the Planning Board decision had run their course. However, Miller and Selectman John Lebeaux then stated their belief that the owner was moving ahead in good faith, and suggested the conditional licenses be granted pending approval by the ABCC and lack of appeals to the plan.
However, Selectman Maurice DePalo reminded the board that the perimeter fence still had not been finalized nor approved by the Planning Board, a continuing issue, although this was not the fault of the management team. The Hooters management team responded by saying that rebuilding the restaurant and continuing with their plans were in jeopardy because food and liquor licenses were still pending. To this Kane asserted that conditional licenses were inappropriate until the pending issues had “ripened” and the final package for approval had been submitted to Boston, and that “conditional licenses” were not what the ABCC wanted to see in a submitted approval packet.
Kane moved that the hearing be continued until Tuesday, Oct. 13 to allow for the project to “more ripen.” This motion was defeated 4-1. The board then voted 4-1 to grant the conditional licenses sought, with Kane dissenting.