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Dewey Beach officials and owners of Crabbers Cove say a zoning complaint against the restaurant will soon be resolved.
Highway One LP presented the town with a written complaint against Crabbers Cove owner Dewey Beach Enterprises (DBE) on June 24. According to the complaint, Crabbers Cove was failing to comply with code requirements and was being allowed to operate as it had before 1993.
Highway One claimed the restaurant should lose its right to operate under Dewey’s grandfathering provision because DBE expanded the service area and reduced and rearranged seating to increase bar areas. Dewey’s grandfathering provision was adopted in 1993 to protect restaurant operations in existence on April 11, 1992.
Town Manager Gordon Elliott sent a letter to DBE July 3 requiring that Crabbers Cove stop changing its seating arrangement while he investigated the complaint. “I guess you could call it a cease-and-desist letter,” Elliott said. He also said it was standard practice to send the letter to maintain the status quo during an investigation.
Town Solicitor Glenn Mandalas said the letter put DBE on notice that the town believed there may have been a code violation. Following a July 11 meeting between town officials and DBE representatives, Mandalas said he is optimistic the matter will be resolved.
“We had a good, open exchange. There was good dialogue,” Mandalas said. Before 1993, there were times when different seating arrangements were permitted, he said.
“The question,” Mandalas said, “is whether the different arrangements are only permitted under specific circumstances, such as for weddings or trade shows.”
Town officials contend changed table and seating arrangements are restricted to special events.
DBE attorney Shawn Tucker said changed seating arrangements should not be restricted based on specific use, but should only be limited regarding the number of times it can be done.
“Prior to 1993, a dozen or more times each year, there were events when the tables in Crabbers Cove were lifted, and stand-up service was allowed,” Tucker said. “Our position is that with grandfathering, that continues and our position is that we are allowed to do it from time to time, without regard to a specific type of event.”
Tucker said DBE will work with the town to establish a mechanism to deal with the issue. He also suggested if the town scrutinizes Crabbers Cove, it should also scrutinize Highway One for alleged changes to floor plans at the Rusty Rudder and failures to pay nonconforming-license fees on the Ruddertowne businesses while it owned them.
Elliott said no complaint has been filed regarding Highway One, and no investigation is being conducted.
Highway One owned Ruddertowne, including Crabbers Cove, from 1998 until its Oct. 31, 2007 sale of the property and businesses to DBE.
Jim Baeurle, a partner in Highway One for 17 years, is now a principal in DBE.
Highway One continues to own several Dewey businesses including northbeach, Venus on the Half Shell and the Rusty Rudder, which is located directly across the street from Ruddertowne, on Dickinson Street.
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