Newtown Restaurant Granted Zoning Relief For Expansion Plans

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The owner of a popular Newtown Township restaurant on Thursday night secured the zoning relief he needs for a building and parking lot improvement project at his business on Washington Crossing Road.

In a unanimous vote, the Newtown Township Zoning Hearing Board approved eight variances for The Grey Stone Food and Spirits, which is looking to expand its parking lot and improve operational efficiencies at its restaurant.

The variances will allow owner Brandon Smith to build two new additions within the existing footprint of his restaurant - 378-square-feet at the front corner of the building and 2,840-square -feet at the rear of the restaurant along with an outside patio and bar area.

“What we are asking tonight are typical natural expansions for a use that fortunately is successful thanks to the work of my client,” said land use attorney Nathan Fox in outlining the plan before the zoning board. “Given that it’s an older building with a choppy feel, this will help modernize the operation and ensure that a good owner stays in place here,” he said.

The Grey Stone on Route 532. (photo by Jeff Werner)

The building additions will expand the restaurant's kitchen area, add preparation space and separate the special event space from the ala carte dining service.

Smith said the current configuration of the building, part of which dates back 200 years, makes it difficult to host events, like boutique wedding receptions while simultaneously offering the ala carte dinner service.

"With this setup, it will separate those two entities, which will maximize my efficiency and allow me to host smaller wedding events, which I haven't been able to do," Smith told the zoning board.

The variances also will allow the disturbance of a small area of woodlands on the site for the addition of a new parking lot on the restaurant side of the highway. The plan would boost parking on the restaurant side up to 118 spaces, said Fox, with 88 spaces available across the street.

“This will be an opportunity for folks to park safely on the restaurant side of Route 532,” said Fox, who called parking on the opposite side of the roadway an “untenable situation” for patrons.

According to Fox, the extensive protected resources located throughout the site, including woodlands, wetlands, and floodplain soils will remain untouched except for the woodland disturbance that will be needed for the expanded parking lot.

“We are not looking to do anything outlandish but given the nature of the property and the constraints of history and nonconformity these are the types of variances that are required to modernize an old building that will remain the same character but bring it to a level to sustain operations.”

Smith will now need to secure land development approvals from the township before he can break ground on the project. That will include preliminary and final land development reviews by the township’s professionals, the planning commission, and ultimately the board of supervisors.

(Photo by Jeff Werner)