Tiverton seafood restaurant back in business after expansion questions raised

The notice of violation issued against McCray’s Seafood at 115 Stafford Road has been lifted and the take-out restaurant with seating in the parking lot is back in operation.

TIVERTON — The notice of violation issued against McCray’s Seafood at 115 Stafford Road has been lifted and the take-out restaurant with seating in the parking lot is back in operation.

Issues were raised earlier this month about whether the seating that new owner Michael Napolitano put in the parking lot, the mobile Tiki bar, the Del’s lemonade cart, and a pop-up tent that he put over the order area, was an expansion of a legal non-conforming use.

Napolitano said he was issued a cease and desist order on July 5 after he thought he was “good to go.”

The matter was discussed Monday night by the Town Council because McCray’s had applied for temporary outdoor seating. The seating arrangement is being approved for restaurants in the interim until the town solicitor drafts an ordinance for outdoor seating and then the Town Council passes it. The ordinance could be ready for a vote in late summer or early fall.

Town Administrator Jan Reitsma said Wednesday that a meeting held Tuesday to iron out the issues at McCray’s ended with the lifting of the notice of violation and issuance of a victualling license.

Reitsma said a lot of the issues turned out to be “non issues. These are hardly issues we need to have someone shut down for,” he said.

McCray’s was one of two restaurants that requested interim outdoor seating approval Monday night. Lyrics Bar and Grill at 4 Stafford Road was given the go-ahead to open an outdoor area, but serving of alcoholic beverages outside must end by 10 p.m.

McCray’s does not have a liquor license, but Napolitano has said at meetings that he plans to seek one.

Six restaurants that have had outdoor seating in past years were given permission last month to continue until the town passes an ordinance setting guidelines that will be in place when license renewals come up in November.

“This is slightly more complicated,” Reitsma told the council Monday night of the changes Napolitano had made that were questioned by town officials, whether the changes could be defined as an expansion of a non-conforming use and if he’d have to go to the zoning board for a variance.

Napolitano said all he did was take away some rotting picnic tables and replace them with teak tables and chairs. There are fewer seats now, he said.

“I lost seating. I don’t think that’s an expansion of a business,” he said.

“The big question is what about the Tiki bar,” Reitsma said of the mobile bar on wheels with a dozen seats that Napolitano takes to the beach on nice days.

The addition of a Del’s lemonade cart raised another question about whether that can be considered an expansion.

Reitsma said Wednesday that because they are both mobile they will not be considered an expansion of the business.

A pop-up tent that was put near the order window in place of an awning that Napolitano said was taken down to block the sun from adding to the temperature of the already-95 degree kitchen was noted in the notice of violation.

“Anything that would expand the service area would be an expansion,” Assistant Town Solicitor Peter Skwirz said Monday.

Council President Denise deMedeiros said there has to be a discussion about what is considered an expansion. “He needs to know if these are true violations,” she said Monday.

They were resolved on Tuesday.

There are continually issues that come up after the Town Council approves a license “subject to meeting all legal requirements” which is the standard motion made before the council approves a license, said Councilwoman Patricia Hilton. Things need to change so the council is only asked to approve a license once everything is in place and to the satisfaction of all town departments.

The town’s Economic Development Commission could be given a project to put together packets to hand out to all new business owners detailing the process they have to follow to be licensed, deMedeiros said. The packet should include a copy of the town’s sign ordinance, which regulates the types and sizes of signs that can be put on buildings and properties.