Not Quite Yet: Restaurateur Hopes To Revive Winter House As Eatery

MADISON, CT — By the end of the May 19 planning and zoning meeting, members were split, and the motion didn't pass, minutes show. But that did not mean they were not, in theory, in favor of seeing the now former Madison Winter House reborn.

They were just not all in sync on blessing a commercial venture in what is a residential district as the venue at 251 Boston Post Road was in fact, for decades, in essence, a restaurant.

Restaurateur Frasher Lulaj had petitioned for a zoning amendment that would allow his proposed steakhouse at the site of the historic Madison Winter Club; a supper club held at the Madison Country Club in the 1930s, until in 1966, the Boston Post Road site was purchased and the Madison Winter Club had its home.

There, members and their guests dined. Until, in 2021, it closed officially owing to fewer members and financial issues. The location, purchased for $44,000 in the 60s, according to its still-up website, was listed by Page Taft/Compass for $1,495,000.

Lulaj offered to buy the site for $1.185 million, according to terms reported on by the Shoreline Times. But, that deal is contingent on him securing the zone change. Real estate agent John Campbell of Page Taft/Compass, who listed the location, was at the Madison Planning and Zoning Commission hearing on behalf of Lulaj.

Lulaj owns La Foresta Restaurant and Wine Bar in Killingworth, the celebrated and well-reviewed Northern Italian eatery.

Though the commission denied the application, it's reported that Lulaj may not give up seeking that zone change and is likely to submit a new application.

At issue is this: if a special zone text change were made for Lulaj, would then others come forward seeking to bring commercial ventures into a residential zone. The Winter House was permitted as a club, not a restaurant, via a special exception permit. Lulaj's lawyer Jeffrey Beatty told the commission that many neighbors have long been accustomed to the site as a dining venue.

Joanne Wilcox, who the meeting minutes identify as president of the Madison Winner Club, spoke in favor of the application, noting the site was a year-round restaurant "prior to the Winter Club."

Campbell told the Middletown Press that Lulaj would be back with a new application, noting that members were not opposed to a dining establishment in what has been essentially that.

He said the commission wanted a "more structured" application request in the event Lulaj's eatery was not successful, "...somebody couldn’t just put up a McDonalds."

Read the full story at The Shoreline Times here.

And the Madison Planning & Zoning Commission May 19 meeting minutes here.