Coffee with a scone and a seat on Main Street

By JANET NOBLE

NARROWSBURG, NY —Roasters is now free to add tables. At the October 16 Tusten Planning Board meeting, a public hearing was held concerning the question of whether the coffee shop, which serves locally produced bakery goods and light lunch fare, can be classified as a restaurant.

Resident Barbara Yeaman spoke up in favor of finding a solution to the problem facing Roasters. She pointed out that if potential investors heard about the Roasters struggle to get a permit for a few tables, they might be disinclined to locate a business in Tusten. Others present said with that allowing Roasters to have seated patrons would enliven Main Street.

Later, John Fink, the engineer hired by the Santanas, the owners of the property, reported on the monitoring done on waste water from the restaurant, 15 Main, and from Roasters as well. Fink said the usage was well under 700 gallons per day. Dave Sparling, the town code enforcement officer, agreed with that assessment. A larger tank is necessary only if usage is in excess of 700 gallons per day.

The Santanas offered to put $20,000 in cash aside, to be used in the event that usage did go above 700 gallons a day in the future. In response to a question about who would continue to do the monitoring, Sparling said that the monitoring he’s been doing takes about three minutes and would need to be done only on a weekly, not a daily, basis. He said that someone from the code enforcement department could do it if the town board was short-staffed.

Finally, it was resolved that the planning board will accept a cash bond for $20,000 from the Santanas, or an amount to be determined by Fink, that will cover the cost of installing a new tank in the future. The bond will be held in escrow and the space inhabited by Roasters will be granted a special use permit for a small eating establishment at 25 Main Street. There was spontaneous applause from the attending public.

The planning board also granted a permanent permit for the restaurant 15 Main, which had been operating on temporary permits.