Your Location For Recreation

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Seawall Park is a seasonal open-air dining and community space where people can gather to enjoy a meal and each other’s company.    

After meeting with Stratford residents, town officials, and listening to the public comments at the zoning /waterfront commission meetings, it’s become clear that our intentions are not fully understood. That is not unusual given the uniqueness of our proposal so below are some clarifications about how we see the lot being operated and managed when in use. We’ve also attached a sample calendar of what a typical month might look like. 

We would love to meet with you, listen to your concerns/issues, answer your questions, and explain what we are actually proposing at Seawall Park. If you’d like to learn more, representatives are onsite Saturdays from 10am-2pm to answer questions. Or emailing info@seawall4all.com is always great! 

Entertainment 

The infrequency of entertainment on the site will surprise many people. We envision an acoustic guitar player on a Wednesday night, steel drums Saturday afternoon or perhaps a DJ at a Saturday night wedding reception. To measure and manage sound levels we have installed industrial decibel meters to monitor decibel levels at property lines and tested decibel levels at the properly lines with an amplified live musician on site. We commit to managing sound levels to not exceed the 80-decibel threshold mandated in the Stratford town ordinance. 

Alcohol Sales

Alcohol is incidental to food sales and not our primary focus at all of our other locations.  What we are proposing would allow us to control alcohol consumption in the same manner that we do at the restaurant. Sales and consumption of alcohol would be contained on our lot, and we would manage it in the same manner that we successfully manage alcohol sales at our restaurant across the street, or as we successfully do at our locations across Connecticut. 

It’s important to note that as of Tuesday June 13th 2023, “to go” alcohol sales from restaurants, both takeout and delivery, is now permanently legal and allowable in Connecticut. This means an individual can purchase a hamburger and a beer to go at Little Pub, walk outside and eat it at the seawall, and there is nothing we can do about that as our control over the purchase ends when the person pays the bill and leaves our premises.  We can contain what we can control. Providing a managed location like Seawall Park for our guests to enjoy alcoholic beverages with their food, and being able to control that activity, is our goal. 

Events

When we discuss “events” we are proposing ticketed food events like clambakes, luaus, etc. or private events like wedding receptions, reunions, corporate celebrations, or fundraisers, etc.. These events would be limited to ticket holders or invitees only so we can plan and manage accordingly. We are not proposing rock concerts, rap concerts, raves, or other activities that would be out of place in the neighborhood. All events would adhere to the Town of Stratford Seawall curfews and noise ordinances.

Parking/Traffic

We have already created 29 additional spaces on our own volition. 8 more parking spaces are coming to Washington Parkway in the Fall. Most local customers walk to our establishment or ride bikes during the summer. 

We also believe this casual food/beverage service will reduce traffic and parking issues. A typical restaurant visit during peak times is 90-120 minutes. For example, two couples meeting for dinner will occupy two parking spaces for two hours. A typical lobster shack visit is 30 minutes. Two couples meeting for a quick bite will occupy two parking spaces for an hour or less.  The timing between a full service meal and quick service will expedite parking.

Operational Hours/Methods

Food trucks would not be operational every day. Food trucks would be plugged into onsite power so generators would not be required. We already park, but do not operate, two of Little Pub’s three food trucks on the lot so we envision the Little Pub trucks would be the primary food trucks operating on the lot on Wednesday nights and Friday, Saturday and Sunday afternoons, with the occasional weeknight event or weekday Holiday (Memorial/Labor Day on a Monday, 4th of July on a Tuesday, etc. ).

Annual Renewal 

We are happy to reapply annually for these permits. At our core restaurant businesses, we reapply annually for liquor permits and health permits, and we get an annual inspection from the fire departments. We are spot checked by all three departments to make sure we are always compliant with rules and regulations. The administrative and legal guardrails are already in place.