Woods Hole Market Plans To Open Restaurant Above Market
The owner of Woods Hole Market plans to transform the second floor of his building at 87 Water Street into a restaurant.
Robert H. Ament, a Falmouth attorney representing Eel Pond LLC, brought the site plan review before the Falmouth Planning Board during a public hearing on Tuesday, August 10.
Jeffrey Parish, owner of Woods Hole Market for the past 11 years, completely renovated the market when he purchased it in December 2010. Maintaining a steady flow of business in the small village of Woods Hole during the age of instant delivery services has been difficult, but the market has been a longtime staple of the community and the owner intends to keep it that way.
“It’s difficult, but it’s what Woods Hole needs and it’s what they want to do,” Mr. Ament said.
The proposed plan would transform the second floor of the historic building into a sit-down restaurant area, while maintaining the market on the ground floor. Additional seating would be available on the second-floor deck, which is currently being used as a seating area for patrons who want to sit and enjoy their deli sandwiches while overlooking Eel Pond.
The restaurant would have about 67 seats and have a full-service sit-down breakfast and dinner menu, while the deli counter would handle lunch.
“There’s an awful lot of support for this proposal,” Mr. Ament said. “A petition at the store has already garnered 450 signatures, which I gave to the board earlier today. There are some very thoughtful letters that have been submitted from people who are acknowledging the importance of the market to the village and like this idea for restaurant use.”
The matter was brought before the board because while it is merely a change of use and no real changes are being done to the building, the site does not meet the parking requirements for a restaurant and is therefore subject to a site plan review. Mr. Ament said that for this reason, the matter is also being brought before the zoning board of appeals to request a special permit waiving or reducing parking regulations for the market.
“We can’t provide parking, but it’s Woods Hole,” Mr. Ament said. “Almost none of the restaurants have parking in Woods Hole. There’s a lot of public transportation, there’s public parking at the Steamship Authority, there’s street parking that’s further down Water Street. And a lot of people who will be patrons of the restaurant and market work in the village, where the institutions do provide parking for staff.”
Mr. Ament made a point to note that the restaurant is on the second floor of a historic building. He told the board that the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board agreed after a few hearings to approve this use, despite the lack of disabled accessibility to the second floor, because there will be disabled access to the first floor.
“I think it’s good,” board member Robert Leary said. “Anything we can do to keep that market going is good for Woods Hole.”
Members of the board appeared to be all in favor of approving the plan that same night, but ultimately decided to continue the matter until their next meeting Tuesday, August 24, to allow time for public comment.