Whaler’s Inn seeks to expand using John’s former footprint

Seats, parking spots were allocated for tavern that was demolished last year

Mystic — The owners of the Whaler’s Inn on East Main Street are seeking to expand their restaurant space from 60 to 100 seats by using the 40 seats that had been allocated to the former John’s Cafe next door, which it bought and then demolished.

In addition, Whaler’s Inn Operations LLC is seeking to use the 17 parking spots that John’s would have been required to provide under zoning — but did not have to provide because it was a legal pre-existing, nonconforming use — and use them as credit toward new or intensified uses on the inn site. The 17 “surplus” spots do not actually exist.

The expansion of the restaurant is likely to be opposed by residents of the adjacent neighborhood who recently fought the Smiler’s Wharf project on the nearby Seaport Marine property, saying it did not have enough parking and would exacerbate parking problems and traffic around their homes.

The Stonington Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled an Aug. 6 public hearing on the application by the Whaler’s Inn for a special-use permit.

Merging properties

In a letter to Town Attorney Jeff Londregan, Town Planner Keith Brynes stated that plans are to merge the inn and John’s properties and that, while the inn site does not have enough parking for the hotel and restaurant, it is subject to a 2000 variance for a parking reduction that allowed the restaurant to have 97 seats.

Brynes asked Londregan for a legal opinion about whether the nonconforming parking shortage of 17 spots can be applied to the larger, merged property at 20 East Main St. after they are combined.

In its application, Whaler’s Inn at

torney Bill Sweeney, who also represented the Smiler’s Wharf development, stated that renovations to the inn reduced the number of guest rooms and reduced the parking demand by 11 spots, which now can be combined with the 17 legal nonconforming surplus spaces from John’s to create a total of 28 spaces that can be dedicated to new or intensified uses.

He further stated that the proposed increase in the number of restaurant seats would require 13 spaces, giving the Whaler’s Inn a credit of 15 spaces to maintain for future development activities or construction.

The restaurant space, which would be expanded by adding an adjacent meeting area, had been occupied for years by the popular Bravo, Bravo restaurant, which now has moved to a new building across the street.