Berkeley’s Zoning Adjustments Board will tonight consider the application by the owners of Comal in downtown Berkeley to open a second restaurant in the old Wright’s Garage space at 2635 Ashby Ave. (at College) in the Elmwood.
City planners are recommending that ZAB approve the proposal, which would entail granting an exception to the Elmwood quota system and agreeing to a midnight closing time on Fridays and Saturdays (an extension from 11:00 p.m.).
Many in the community support the plan, although there are also local residents who oppose it, principally on the grounds that it would cause parking headaches in the neighborhood.
Comal owners John Paluska and Andrew Hoffman envision that the yet-to-be-named spot would serve Northern Californian cuisine and have a full bar, including a menu of craft cocktails. The restaurant would be open for lunch and dinner. The atmosphere, energy and design would likely be similar to Comal, Paluska told Berkeleyside when we broke the news of the plan in June.
Since then, Paluska and Hoffman, whose company is called Belts and Suspenders, have engaged in concerted community outreach — holding meetings with local residents and Elmwood merchants and soliciting support via email.
The property owner, John Gordon, commissioned a parking study and a traffic impact analysis report, both conducted by engineering firm Omni Means.
The parking analysis calculated that the restaurant would generate a peak parking demand for 37 spaces on a Saturday and 34 spaces on the highest weekday during its peak hour (7:00-8:00 pm). The peak demand was also applied to the lunch period to remain conservative. Parking demand would range from 22-36 spaces at the other surveyed times of the day.
The report concluded that “parking demand prompted by restaurant customers would be accommodated within the supply of available spaces in its study area, with a surplus of 74 spaces remaining available during the peak time period on Saturday evening.” (Read the full report.)
The traffic report concluded that the new restaurant could be expected to add approximately 100-120 daily trips divided to the east and west on Ashby Avenue, and 80-100 trips divided to the north and south on College Avenue near the site of the new restaurant. This translates as approximately 0.5% or less to daily volumes. (Read the full report.)
Joshua Sperry, an Elmwood resident, launched an online petition in support of the new restaurant soon after the plan came to light, which, at the time of writing, had 138 supporters. Sperry does not envisage the new place having a big impact on parking. “People driving to the area for dinner wouldn’t be parking overnight, and we don’t see one more restaurant adding a lot of extra cars to our streets,” he wrote on the online petition site. He hopes that many of the restaurant’s customers won’t be driving at all. “People already walk and bike to the Elmwood, and hopefully this would be another good reason to do that.”
He also expressed enthusiasm for the restaurant’s proposed bar. “If there is one thing that Elmwood currently lacks, it is a place where adults can go and have a good cocktail. With the growing craft cocktail trend as part of the “slow food” movement, and more types of liquor being produced locally, we would really like to see a full service bar within walking distance,” he said.
Local residents’ group CENA (Claremont and Elmwood Neighborhood Association) has not taken a position in support or in opposition to the restaurant. A straw poll among its members conducted a couple of months ago indicated support, although concerns were raised to do with parking, trash and extended hours.
Paluska and Hoffman opened Comal at 2020 Shattuck Ave. in May 2012. It was the first restaurant for Paluska, who formerly was the manager of the popular band Phish. Comal is seen to have revived a formerly lackluster part of downtown Berkeley.
This is not the first time someone has tried to open a restaurant in this Elmwood location. In 2007, a group called the Elmwood Neighborhood Association filed a lawsuit against commercial realtor John Gordon and Berkeley after the Council had given its approval for a 5,000 sq ft restaurant in the same building. The lawsuit was settled in February 2008. The neighborhood group contended that the city had not put the project through the proper environmental review before issuing a permit, and that the restaurant-bar would bring undue traffic and noise to the neighborhood.
The Zoning Adjustments Board meets tonight at 7:00 p.m. in Council Chambers at Old City Hall, Second Floor, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The Ashby restaurant is item 2 on the agenda.
Related:
Comal owners plan to open new Berkeley restaurant (06.25.13)
Nosh Talk: Comal chef Matt Gandin (11.14.12)
Bauer waxes lyrical about Comal: A magnificent package (07.16.13)
Comal: New restaurant takes a bet on downtown Berkeley (04.30.12)
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