Restaurant owner delights in patio season

Outdoor seating was OK’d after months of talks

MILFORD — Getting approval for an outdoor patio at Eli’s Tavern was pricey and hard fought for the restaurant’s owner, but from a business angle, the fight was worth it, he said.

The restaurant patio opened in May after more than 18 months of haggling between Richard Ciardiello and the city, which owns the “parkette” or tiny strip of grass upon which the patio with 11 metal tables sit. When the city wouldn’t lease Ciardiello the parcel next to the restaurant on Daniel Street, there were claims of politics made in the fight by Ciardiello and nasty exchanges at public meetings between Ciardiello and members of city boards, as well as politically prominent residents.

Now, with the first summer season with a patio behind them, Ciardiello said the seating area has helped business “tremendously.”

Laura Andrews, marketing official for Eli’s Restaurant Group, said the patio is such a boon they have placed heater towers so customers can enjoy it through the fall and winter. She said the restaurant/bar has always thrived at night, but lunch was slow without outdoor seating.

The city ultimately leased the slice of property to Eli’s Tavern for five years at $2,500 per year with a right for the restaurant to extend the lease for one additional term of five years, City Attorney Jonathan Berchem said.

Mayor Ben Blake said the city agreed to the lease after Ciardiello got the approval of downtown “stakeholders” — other businesses in the area, which he didn’t have originally. During the unsuccessful patio quest, Blake denied that politics was involved. Blake said there is a lot of “energy” in the Daniel Street area and people walking when the weather is nice, making patios a plus.

Ciardiello maintained all along and reiterated this week that he bought the building with a preapproved patio and it should have been open three years ago.

“We knew having a patio would help business tremendously, as we saw this past summer,” he said. “We are happy that the end result is the patio is open. We love being a part of the downtown Milford community and are excited to embrace the many things that this active area has to offer.”

The restaurant is among five in the restaurant group, four of which now have a patio. Eli’s Restaurant in Orange is the only one in the group without a patio — for now, Andrews said.

Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Patrons sit in the outdoor patio space at Eli’s Tavern on Daniel Street in Milford on Friday.