Dewey planners recommend Playa Bowls, code change

Plans for Playa Bowls in Dewey are one step closer to fruition after town planners voted unanimously May 18 to recommend to town council draft ordinances regarding eateries.

In April, town commissioners determined they could not vote to approve a conditional-use application for Playa Bowls because town zoning code requires eateries to provide a unisex, handicapped public bathroom. 

At the time, Town Counsel Fred Townsend said code would need to be amended before the application could be approved, so commissioners referred the matter to the planning and zoning commission.

At the May 18 public hearing, Keith Mushinski of Playa Bowls said that he wanted to convert a T-shirt shop adjacent to the Bottle & Cork into a 157-square-foot, takeout-only kitchen that would serve smoothies, juices and acai bowls. Indoor or outdoor patron seating would not be provided, he said.

Employees would access a bathroom via a door outside the eatery that leads to an office area and not the patron area of the Cork, Mushinski said. The Delaware Board of Health requires a bathroom within 500 feet for staff use, he said.

Mushinski said his acai bowls are a healthy alternative to ice cream, and that he hopes to be up and running by Fourth of July weekend. Planned hours are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Sunday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday.

After some discussion, planners voted to recommend a draft ordinance amending code to state that eateries that provide indoor or outdoor seating on premises would need to provide one unisex, handicapped public bathroom. Eateries that do not provide any seating would not have to provide a public bathroom.

Planners also voted to recommend the conditional-use application for Playa Bowls. Both actions next go to town council for another public hearing and possible vote to approve. A date for the hearing has not yet been set.