
A screen shot from the March 10 ZBA meeting, which was held on Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DERBY — Members of the city’s zoning board of appeals granted a variance Wednesday to the owner of The Dew Drop Inn by a 5 – 0 vote.
The approval gets The Dew Drop a little closer to its goal of expanding the restaurant by adding an outdoor patio, storage space, and bathroom.
The outdoor seating plan now goes back to the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission, whose members are scheduled to take up the issue at a meeting 7 p.m. Tuesday (March 16).
Check the Derby city calendar for the agenda and the info needed to watch the meeting online.
What’s The Dew Drop?
The Dew Drop Inn is a popular tavern at the intersection of Roosevelt Drive (state Route 34) and North Avenue. It’s known for an extensive craft beer menu. Its chicken wings have been voted the best in Connecticut.
Owners Kenna Carlucci and her husband, Jason, who took over the place in 2006, transformed it from a hole-in-the-wall biker bar with a mixed reputation to a destination spot, judging by the rave reviews on Yelp and TripAdvisor.
The Carluccis want to add an outdoor patio, storage space and a bathroom to the side of their building. The new patio — which is supposed to have a covered portion and an uncovered portion — will take up most of what is now the Dew’s small parking lot.
While the Dew will be losing parking next to the building, the bar owns a good-sized parking lot on the northside of Park Avenue, a stone’s throw from the front door.
Why Is The ZBA Involved?
Any type of addition to the Dew is tricky, because the property is weirdly shaped, and the bar, which has an apartment above it, is a grandfathered use. The front door is only a few feet from the road. The property is narrow, too, as it heads up North Avenue toward a residential zone. The rear portion of featured jagged rock outcroppings.
Derby’s zoning requirements for the business requires structures to be 20-feet from the road. That’s not possible in the Dew’s case, so they went to the ZBA asking for a variance from that rule.
The new patio, should it be granted the necessary approvals, will be about five feet away from the road.
Before voting to grant the variance, ZBA member/Derby GOP leader Sam Pollastro said he wanted input from the police department and the Department of Public Works (to weigh-in on snow removal).

A screen shot from the meeting showing the plans for outdoor patio the owners hope to attach to The Dew Drop Inn, a popular bar in Derby.
The ZBA’s consulting engineer pointed out those matters are really the jurisdiction of the Planning & Zoning Commission, whose members will look at everything from parking to the number of tables to be added.
But the five members of the ZBA opted to insert language into their approval saying it is contingent upon “positive referrals” from the police department and public works.
Pollastro indicated he was hesitant because of problems neighbors have had across town with The Hops Co., another successful bar/restaurant. The place, which is much bigger than The Dew, doesn’t have a ton of parking, and neighbors have complained about patrons clogging residential streets with cars.
It Had The Same Zoning As A Cemetery
Further complicating the Dew Drop matter — for years the Dew property was zoned as “public and semi-public space,” a designation reserved in Derby for schools and cemeteries (a cemetery sits atop the steep hill behind the Dew).
The Dew applied for and was recently successful in getting the city to include the property in the “mill design district,” which puts it inline with the rest of the non-residential uses along Roosevelt Drive (state Route 34).
This is complicated, but it is important to note the Dew’s parking lot on the north side of Park Avenue (a road parallel to Roosevelt Drive) is still zoned residential (even though it’s a parking lot).
Carlucci had an application to get that parking lot included in the “mill design district,” too, but neighbors worried changing the zone would some day allow non-residential uses to cross Park Avenue and into the residential zone.
It’s a legit concern, because the city’s already allowed non-residential uses to encroach on the residential zone on Park Avenue.
The city allowed a crane business on Roosevelt Drive to use a former employee parking lot on Park Avenue as a place to store construction containers, tractor-trailers, random industrial equipment, cranes, and drainage pipes.
Carlucci, though, listened to his neighbors and left the parking lot zoned as is, which pleased neighbors, who support The Dew Drop and, in general, the plan to add the outdoor patio.
Blasting
But, the Dew Drop’s residential neighbors have repeatedly said they are not fans of blasting.
Some amount of blasting will be needed to clear rock from the ledge next to the Dew to make room for the outdoor patio. At this point, no one’s said how much rock ledge will have to be removed.
The closest residence to The Dew Drop is owned by the Piscioneri family. They are concerned that blasting could disturb the underground lay of the land and cause flooding at their home. The rock ledge, years ago, featured spring water people would collect and drink.
The blasting is likely going to be an issue during next week’s review by the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission. Carlucci said he spoke to the Piscioneris personally to hear and respond to their concerns.
Dominick Thomas, the land-use lawyer representing The Dew, pointed out it is in Carlucci’s best interest to have safe blasting — and as little as possible.
After all, Thomas said, The Dew Drop building itself, where Carlucci makes his living, is the closest structure to any blasting.
Ryan McEvoy, Derby’s consulting engineer, pointed out any blasting plan would have to be reviewed and certified safe by the city’s fire marshal.
Carlucci promised to give advance notice to neighbors about any blasting (assuming his application to the Derby P&Z is approved). He also invited anyone with questions or concerns to stop by the Dew Drop and talk to him about his plans.
Carlucci has, at every public meeting so far, stepped in to talk to his neighbors directly during public meetings. That’s somewhat unusual, because applicants usually let their lawyers do all the talking.
Lots Of Neighbors
The north side of Park Avenue, all of North Avenue, and nearby Hawthorne Avenue are almost exclusively residential. There are many houses on quarter-acre lots, so it is densely populated.
Marc Garofalo, Derby’s town/city clerk, pointed out the regulations mandate development applicants to notify neighbors within 150 feet.
He suggested The Dew Drop and its lawyer go beyond notifying property owners within 150 feet of the restaurant, so that everyone in the greater neighborhood knows what’s happening.
If the Derby Planning & Zoning Commission approves the plan for the outdoor patio, the Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen will also get a look at the plans, because the application includes the addition or a crosswalk and sidewalk, which, according to info relayed at the ZBA meeting, is the Aldermen’s jurisdiction.