The Dew Drop, a popular pub known for its extensive wing and beer menus, is in front of the Derby Planning & Zoning Commission seeking a special exception approval that will allow the owners to build a partially covered outdoor patio, a new bathroom, and storage space.
The expansion will add, at most, 36 seats to the Dew.
The expansion will take away most of a small parking area next to the bar. However, the Dew Drop owns a parking lot around the corner from the bar on Park Avenue that holds some 70 cars.
In recent months, the P&Z approved rezoning the Dew Drop property (only the bar, not the Park Avenue parking lot). The property had been zoned as “public/semi-public,” according to Derby zoning maps, the same designation as a nearby cemetery. It is now in the “mill design district,” which matches nearby commercial properties on Roosevelt Avenue off which the Dew sits.
The Dew also had to receive a front setback variance from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals since the existing building and proposed outdoor dining area is so close to North Avenue.
At a Derby P&Z Commission last week, he city’s consulting engineer and commission members wanted to learn more about a sidewalk the Dew wants to build in front of the property. The sidewalk would create safe passage for people crossing from Park Avenue and heading down to the Dew. Click the video above to watch the full meeting.
The city’s consulting engineer asked whether the sidewalk could extend further down North Avenue and connect to a crosswalk to be placed at North Avenue and Roosevelt Drive.
Dominick Thomas said he would be talking with Derby’s planning consultants about the issue, along with providing topography maps needed for the plan review.
The Dew’s expansion plan is generally supported by neighbors who have appeared at public meetings on the issue. They are not fans of the blasting scheduled to happen.
Blasting is needed because rock ledge needs to be cleared for the expansion.
But Thomas has repeatedly pointed out that the Dew Drop building, which houses two apartments on the second floor, is the closest structure to the blasting zone, so it is in his client’s best interest to ensure whatever is done does not impact surrounding properties.
The next Derby P&Z meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20. Thomas said even if the application is granted in April, construction is not scheduled to start immediately because the business wants to get through the spring season.
It’s been a very tough year for bars, thanks to emergency restrictions in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Connecticut in March 2020. The Dew Drop has made a go of it by providing curb-side service.
