Pita Spot Gets Outdoor Seating OK

The won Stonington Planning and Zoning approval Tuesday night for al fresco seating, albeit with fewer tables than requested. The original request was for seating for 32; the PZC agreed to seating for 20.

, with scores of residents in favor of the restaurant’s request and a number of neighbors vehemently opposed to it. A PZC special meeting at Mystic Middle School saw owner Vivian Torregrossa’s request OK'd but with stipulations including a 10 foot buffer in the back of the building between the restaurant and neighbors, landscaping including trees—that will also act as buffers and noise abatement—and curbing. Most of those were required of the property owner in a 1999 PZC action.  

“The (PZC) is just enforcing what should have been done by our landlord and he is happy to do that,” Torregrossa said. “The commission was extremely fair, they followed the law and even though we will have less seating than we asked for, they were fair to our business and our neighbors.”

The special use permit for The Pita Spot is for May through October. Torregrossa hopes to be able to set those outdoor tables up May 1, contingent on the work being completed by the property owner.

“He’s on board. He said he will do whatever the town said he must do. I expect he will get moving ASAP,” Torregrossa said.

The Pita Spot, which serves Mediterranean and Middle Eastern fare, is named as the number one restaurant in Mystic by TripAdvisor, the popular travel website, where it’s garnered that rating with 98 percent of reviewers raving about the eatery. The most recent reviewer describes the food as “heaven on a plate.” And at last month’s public hearing the majority of the more than 20 people that attended spoke in favor of the application and the restaurant.

Though Hatch Street neighbors have not been so enamored and were clear in their disapproval with complaints including parking issues, noise, and traffic. Debbie Smith told the PZC that Pita Spot patrons park near homes and create conditions where her children are unable to walk safely down the street, albeit acknowledging that parking is public on the street. Coburn Avenue resident Arlene Carson said she has to contend with debris tossed onto her lawn from the Williams Avenue restaurant.

Torregrossa said she doesn’t “want my neighbors unhappy” and believes the concessions including buffers between the restaurant and neighbors will help alleviate some of the conditions that have led to complaints.

The PZC voted 4-1 to approve the permit for the outdoor seating, which by definition would reduce parking though still compliant with zoning regulations. The street parking concern of neighbors is an issue the PZC cannot address or change since parking is in a commercial zone that abuts a residential zone.

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