Ferraro's Restaurant, Plans on Hold, Questions Remain

Bar/Lounge as shown on Ferraro's website

It would seem that the bump in the Ferraro's road to re-building must have been caused by their advisors. The experts to whom they turned to help them with the problems of re-building had a duty to tell them what they couldn't do as much as what they could do.

The drawings show restaurants on three floors with the number of people shown through depictions of tables and chairs. The numbers are important for fire laws and parking regulations.

Why didn't their advisors tell them that Westfield requires this restaurant to have 75 percent of it's patrons on the ground floor with direct access to the street? That would seem to make a third floor restaurant unnecessary or a violation.

The advisors knew the Ferraro's were under certain legal restrictions with their type of liquor license. No bar is allowed yet the drawing/plans show three bars. The license, prohibits anyone eating or drinking at a counter, so the drawings show floor space being taken up by furnishings that cannot be used. This would mean that once the bars are removed, there would be more floor space for tables and chairs and more customers. This problem calls into question the numbers of people estimated on each floor.

Last year the Town told the Ferraro's of the impropriety of the bar they built in the former restaurant and they agreed they would not use it as a bar in the future. Why would their advisors draw into the plan items which have been admitted to be improper by the owners?

The Ferraro's have been very successful in building a family restaurant in Westfield. Once they receive the proper advice on how to comply with the rules, we can look forward to the good family restaurant we all grew to know and enjoy.