EDIC's RFP For Falmouth Station Prompts Big Turnout In Support Of Current Tenants
There was an unusually large turnout at Falmouth’s Economic Development and Industrial Corporation meeting on Tuesday morning, September 14, all due to one agenda item.
About eight residents showed up to participate in the discussion of 59 Depot Avenue, where John P. Marcellino and his wife, Marion, operate The Station Grill.
The EDIC had a longtime goal of opening a food establishment in the station and in May 2018 awarded the concession to Mr. Marcellino, who had a successful past in the food truck business.
Mr. Marcellino’s three-year lease for the restaurant is up, and Massachusetts state procurement laws require certain procedures to be followed, including an impending request for proposals (RFP) for the property.
Although an RFP has not been issued yet, public knowledge of the state’s procedural requirements and speculation about what that might mean for The Station Grill prompted a group of patrons to attend the EDIC’s meeting.
“I built this business with my wife under the impression that we could be there forever if we did a good job, a thorough job, an efficient job…and here’s the evidence of the job we did,” Mr. Marcellino said, gesturing toward the people in attendance.
Mr. Marcellino, a member of the Wampanoag Tribe, thanked those attending for coming and addressed both the audience and the board with an impassioned speech. He emphasized the difficulties he and his wife have faced as small-restaurant owners during a pandemic and asked the board if it was possible to ask the state for a lease extension, considering half of their three-year lease was during a pandemic.
“Is this fair?” Mr. Marcellino asked. “Is this good, what’s happening? The possibility of my wife and I losing this business? Where’s the sense of fairness? I think that’s why these people are here. There are many more. This is only the beginning, but I wish it could end today. Lastly, I want to tell you…about the sleepless nights that we’ve had over this. My wife crying in our house because she thinks that someone’s going to take away her business that she’s worked so hard for. So I ask you: is this fair? Is this what the EDIC is about? No. These are good people, and these are also good people,” Mr. Marcellino said.
Three individuals—Bill Martin, Charlene D’Errico and Robin Sager—spoke in support of The Station Grill.
“I’m an elected official in my other hometown,” said Bill Martin, chairman of the Chelmsford Water District. “We always talk about the gateway, what it looks like when you get into town. I think when people get off that bus and they see The Station Grill, they have a feeling about Falmouth that we want to continue.”
Ms. D’Errico concurred, saying it is Mr. Marcellino’s hospitality that has made The Station Grill such a success.
“If you’ve seen what John’s done in regards to the place itself, with the flowers, how it’s so inviting, he’s just so congenial,” Ms. D’Errico said. “I can call John and say I’m coming down to The Station Grill and he’ll make a reservation for me. I just feel that Falmouth should be so supportive of an enterprise that, through hard work and dedication, created a thriving business.”
After adjourning the public comment section of the discussion of Falmouth station, vice chairman Christopher Simmler made a promise to Mr. Marcellino and the crowd that the EDIC will do its best to find a solution that works for all parties.
“We’re looking outside the box as John requested and we may have some alternate solutions, but you’ve got to understand that we’re still a legal entity,” Mr. Simmler said. “We can’t break the law, but there’s always alternatives and ways to stay within the law to meet those requirements. We think we may have a path that we’re going to discuss further, but I want to thank John [for] his hard work. We have future plans for the entire area that are going to grow and make it more vibrant. You’ve made a cornerstone for that area and a destination point, so I want to thank you. I know everybody up here supports chef John and we’ve just got to find the right way to do this. That’s my promise to you guys, we’re looking for a right way.”
Present at the meeting were Kevin Holmes, treasurer; Christopher Simmler, vice chairman; Michael Galasso, member; Thomas Feronti, clerk; Wayne Lingafelter, executive director; Lynne Broderick, administrator; and Michael DiGiano, former executive director.
“The EDIC was certainly pleased to see the community support for the cafe,” Mr. Lingafelter said in a phone call the following day. “We’ve worked hard since that opened three years ago or so to create a vibrant environment at the station, so it’s rewarding to see that people are coming out to support the station. The EDIC has made a significant investment of both time and funds there over the last five years and we’re working hard to make sure we have the best combination of tenants.”
The EDIC has made no public statement about an RFP for the property; however, the final item on the agenda for its September 14 meeting is as follows: “Adjournment of Open Meeting Session and move into Executive Session to discuss the RFP for the Falmouth Station lease and to consider other long-term planning initiatives to the Falmouth Station as discussing these matters in Open Meeting may be detrimental to the Falmouth EDIC’s negotiating position.”
The EDIC entered into executive session as stated; the next day, Mr. Lingafelter said that the board has authorized him as executive director to “continue [their] dialogue with John to see whether [they] can reach any understanding about a lease renewal.”
“The EDIC views that situation as a very important community asset,” Mr. Lingafelter said. “Just this month, we kicked off a long-term planning study for the station. We were able to secure a grant from Mass Development and that allowed us to bring several different professionals onto a team along with Mass Development to look at the long-term potential that that site in its entirety offers.”
The $57,000 grant from Mass Development brings the EDIC one step closer to its long-term goal of revitalizing not just the station, but the entire property. Mr. Lingafelter said the study, which will likely be about six months long, will include stakeholder meetings and community outreach over the next 30 days.