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Politics & Government

Revised Ferraro's Plans To Be Presented To Planning Board Tonight

New plan still includes three-story restaurant, now with an expanded ground floor

Does bigger mean better? We’ll find out tonight.

The plans for rebuilding the new Ferraro’s restaurant actually appear to be larger than the , when a hearing on the matter unraveled before the board delayed consideration and before the family-owned restaurant could introduce its third and final witness. The follow-up hearing, originally scheduled for August 1, as the company revised its plans for rebuilding the landmark restaurant that was .  

The new plans, to be presented tonight at a special meeting before the Planning Board, still include a three-story restaurant while also expanding the ground floor of the restaurant onto a third lot of property. The previous plans included a three-story restaurant, but the building only existed on Lots 2 and 3 of the property at 14 Elm Street. The new plan also includes a one-story extension of the restaurant onto Lot 4.

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A representative of Ferraro’s said on Wednesday afternoon that the group would not comment on the new plans until after Thursday night’s meeting, but the planners stated in the application on file at the Department of Public Works that they do not expect the proposed building or their requested variances to be detrimental to the public. According to the new application – dated August 4 – the plans will request four variances from the Land Use Ordinance. The prior plans requested three variances, including variances from off-street parking regulations and sign height limits.  On two different occasions in the application, the word “restaurant” is crossed out and replaced instead by the word “structure” in a short paragraph summarizing the intent of the plans.

According to the application, the first floor will include seating for 118 people, with a large dining room to the right of the lobby and a smaller dining room to the left. Both contain both booth and table seating. The main room includes a fireplace and a walk-up bar that is labeled only as a “service bar.” There is also an elevator and one staircase when you walk in and an open staircase in the main lobby to the second floor.

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The second floor now includes more conference and office space than the original plan included. There are dining room tables of 10 along with bathrooms and storage and a covered terrace. The second floor also includes a longue area with seating around small tables and what is described as a service bar.  

On the third floor, there is a kitchen and more office space, along with a large dining room with 70 seats and a fireplace. A terrace with a pergola is in place, along with a ship’s ladder and a roof hatch. The main dining room with also have three Juliette balconies. It is believed that this floor will have a different name than Ferraro’s, but the representative contacted by Patch would not comment on whether the floor will be leased out.

The building’s exterior will consist of stucco in a neutral color that is yet to be determined. There will be burgundy awnings on the building, black railings on the balconies and stained mahogany doors on the front.

There is a large Ferraro’s sign on the first floor and the name of the awning over the front door. The side door that is closer to the elevator will be labeled with the name of the third floor restaurant, according to the plans.  

Any public opposition tonight will likely focus on a few sticky issues, only some of which may actually be under the purview of the Planning Board itself. At the July 18 meeting, several residents questioned the degree to which the designs presented by Ferraro’s would comply with a variety of liquor regulations in the town code. For example, Sec. 4.7 of the town code requires that at least 75 percent of the licensed premises serving liquor be on the ground floor directly accessible from the street. There are also liquor law complications dealing with the size and style of the bar that the group could actually include in its restaurant.

Additionally, Ferraro’s drew criticism regarding the degree to which a three-story restaurant would fit in with the traditional look and feel of downtown Westfield. One resident questioned the group’s architect over the type of “traditional” décor that would be used for the new restaurant. At a recent meeting of the Historical Preservation Commission, several of the group’s members expressed disappointment over being left out of Ferraro’s plans on how to design the new version of its storied restaurant, particularly because they said the Ferraro property lies within 200 feet of a historic sight – the firehouse.

Tonight’s Planning Board meeting is scheduled to begin at 7:30 at Town Hall. 

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