A Newcastle couple plan to open a home restaurant, The Patio, on Poorhouse Cove in south Bristol this spring.

The South Bristol Board of Selectmen held a public hearing to discuss entertainment and alcohol licenses for the restaurant on Thursday, April 19.

Mark Bartle and Kim McLellan presented their plans for the small restaurant at 1578 Route 129.

The restaurant would be in a family house, which belonged to Bartle’s grandparents.

The Patio would be open from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. three or four days a week, and meals would be by reservation only. It would be open July through October, weather permitting, according to Bartle.

The restaurant would have five tables on a patio and could seat 24 to 30 people.

Dinner would consist of a five-course meal, with guests arriving at 5:30 pm There will be only one seat each evening.

“The idea is a set menu, so Mark may have two choices per night. You come for this experience, ”said McLellan.

Bartle, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York City, has worked in the kitchen for about 35 years.

He owned three restaurants, two on the island of St. Croix and one in Dennis, Mass.

Bartle and McLellan both worked at the Coveside restaurant in south Bristol. Bartle has been a chef for four years and McLellan a waitress and bartender for 10 years.

“I would like to do something more specific,” Bartle said.

“I want to do it at a much slower pace, with a smaller volume, where I can focus more on the craft,” he said.

There would be no bar in the restaurant, only the possibility of having a cocktail with dinner, according to Bartle.

“Dinner at the white tablecloth in a rustic setting” is how the couple describes the experience they are trying to create. They envision an intimate but relaxed restaurant.

“We want them to feel important,” McLellan said of customers.

“We really want to create an experience, but we want it to be very low-key. We want people to be able to enjoy a phenomenal meal, enjoy our artisanal wine list and just enjoy the scenery. And then we quietly turn off the lights and everyone go home, ”Bartle said.

Bartle and McLellan would be the only staff, although they could possibly hire a dishwasher if needed, according to Bartle.

According to Bartle, people walking past the house probably wouldn’t even be able to tell that it has a restaurant.

There would be no signage, other than “The Patio” in letters on the mailbox, and all exterior lighting would be dim and subdued, according to Bartle. The parking lot would not be visible from the street. It would be a non-smoking property.

William Dale, an attorney for the Portland firm of Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry, attended the meeting to represent Don Hirsch, a professor at the University of Virginia who has a summer residence about 400 yards from the proposed restaurant.

Dale said Hirsch had asked for a licensing decision to be postponed for two weeks, so neighbors could discuss the proposal.

“It’s brand new for the neighbors,” Dale said.

“Do you know what happens in a small town in two weeks, when it happens in the streets?” We can’t have this meeting here; we’ll have it at the school. And you’ll want to be well prepared to take on the people of the city of South Bristol, ”board chairman Ken Lincoln told Dale.

There has been quite a bit of discussion as to whether a second public hearing in a few weeks would be necessary, in order to get the word out to neighbors and summer residents about the proposed plan.

Some participants felt that the public had not been given sufficient notice of the hearing.

The selectmen said the council does not issue or approve the liquor license, but only holds a public hearing before the application is sent to the state.

The selectmen said after the meeting, the liquor license application would be sent to the state for decision, since the selectmen held the public hearing. They also said that the liquor license must be renewed every year, so if any changes need to be made in the future, they can be.

They requested that any entertainment license discussion take place then, rather than two weeks from now.

“I think the neighbors’ concern is noise,” said one participant.

“The entertainment would be purely, if you like, acoustic or slightly amplified,” in the case of a keyboard, Bartle said.

It was agreed by those in attendance that the restaurant could have Patriot Day entertainment on November 1 and that the music could not exceed 50 decibels within 100 feet of the establishment. The selectmen then approved the entertainment license.

Others present were concerned about light and noise pollution caused by slamming headlights and car doors. Some wanted to put a limit on the number of customers who could visit the restaurant at the same time.

The selectmen said the Maine State Fire Marshal’s office determines the capacity of a space. They said the concerns, while valid, were not part of the process for applying for a liquor license or an entertainment license.

“We are moving forward with this permit,” said Lincoln.

“I expected a lot of interest… it was more intense than I expected,” Bartle said of the public hearing.

However, Bartle and McLellan both said they understand why people would want more information about the changes in their neighborhood.

Bartle pointed out that the restaurant would have a “very light footprint” because it is part of a family home.

“In our vision, it’s an atmosphere of friends and acquaintances,” Bartle said.

Voters have spoken and the result is “Viva Italia!

Carelli’s Pizzeria and Pasta repeated as the dominant force on Craig’s culinary scene, with five wins in the 2015 Best of Moffat County, again taking home Best Breakfast, Dinner, Italian Restaurant, Pizza and Sandwich.

For owners Brett and Stephanie Etzler, in charge of operations since 2011, it’s about the customers who make it happen.

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“Everything we put in is for them,” said Stéphanie.

The Etzlers still haven’t made any drastic changes from when they bought the place, other than adding some of their own touches, like an almost weekly rotation cycle of new microbreweries, anchored by Palisade’s Dirty Hippie. Brewing Company.

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Good food and plenty of food remains the priority, and keeping some of the old favorites from before their time as owners, such as the award-winning DC Sandwich, the importance of its namesake – Vice President Dick Cheney – remains a mystery to them.

With fresh new pizza recipes here and there whenever the mood strikes you – ranging from lox to Reuben style with pastrami and Thousand Island dressing instead of sauce – Brett’s culinary abilities as a chef. cook remain a selling point.

Last year, the restaurant opened a patio seating area, which the couple look forward to using more and more this summer, bringing back their wine and beer tastings later this year.

Keeping a place that is a good daily meeting place is the kind of priority Stephanie wants.

“It’s a really friendly place, we take care of our staff and they take care of our customers, so I think people get that vibe,” she said.

Waitress Jordan Clark has been on the restaurant staff for almost six years, with her favorite part of the workplace being somewhat of a paradox: a sense of change that keeps things new, while taking refuge in the constant flow of familiar faces.

“We have a great clientele, it’s good to see them, some of them every day,” she said.

Even beyond Moffat County, the Carelli name is beginning to command respect. A few weeks ago the The restaurant has received an official Certificate of Excellence from the TripAdvisor Internet Travel Guide for its numerous high marks from diners.

Although they take the honor of the best Italian restaurant as their badge of honor, the Etzlers also hope the community realizes that pizza and pasta are only part of their offerings.

“It’s so much more than that,” Stephanie said, noting the steak, salmon, tenderloin and other menu items that don’t fall under this classification. “We want everyone to see what this is about.”

Contact Andy Bockelman at 970-875-1793 or [email protected].