Issue date: October 28, 1998
By BARBARA WOOD
When he and his partners bought Woodside's Little Store restaurant, Greg St. Claire says, the plan was "not to make a lot of money, but to have a place to take our kids and have some fun and continue a Woodside tradition."
"We're not in here to make a quick buck and move on. We're in here for the long run," the Woodside native says.
Now, however, Mr. St. Claire says the rules the town has placed on the operating hours of the restaurant could make its survival impossible.
"What was supposed to be a really fun and exciting thing has turned into a nightmare," he says.
That's because the town of Woodside has told Mr. St. Claire and his partners, James and A.J. Guaspari, that in order to operate in harmony with the surrounding residences, the Little Store can be open only during the same hours as the previous owners had last operated -- serving lunch and dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays.
The partners had counted on operating seven days a week, serving breakfast as well as lunch and dinner.
Mr. St. Claire says he told Planning Director David Rizk, who made the decision to limit the hours, "You're handing us a financial death sentence."
Not only is the restaurant's revenue limited, but closing two days in a row means much of the fresh food that the restaurant serves goes bad while the restaurant is shut down, and must be thrown out, Mr. St. Claire said.
While the use permit governing the restaurant does not specify any hours of operation, Mr. Rizk said in a June 15 letter to former Little Store owners Marcel and Kay Mouney that the town's general plan limits the intensity of use on commercial property to that which is "compatible with adjoining uses and in keeping with the rural village character of Woodside."
The restaurant is located off Woodside Road (Highway 84) in an area zoned for homes, but is allowed to operate because it existed before the town was incorporated. Local historian Jeanne Dickey says the Little Store is the oldest continuously operating commercial establishment in town.
In his letter, Mr. Rizk said the town "strongly recommends" that expanding the hours or seating capacity of the restaurant beyond those he recommends "be approved via an amendment to the conditional use permit by the Planning Commission." The letter goes on to state: "No amendments to the use permit would be required if the operation (regardless of ownership) is continued as it has existed."
Exactly how the restaurant operated in the past seems to be a point of contention, however.
Mr. St. Claire and his partners wrote to the town in September to let them know that they did plan to operate the restaurant seven days a week and to serve breakfasts. "We are requesting our permit reflect the old hours of operation of the Little Store, and not the hours of the past few years," the letter says. The former owners had cut back the restaurant's hours in recent years as they moved toward retirement, Mr. St. Claire claims.
He says the former owners planned to go to Town Hall this week and show proof that they had been open on Sundays and Mondays.
When Mr. Rizk insisted that the hours be restricted, the Little Store owners filed an appeal of his decision with the Planning Commission. That matter was to be heard last week, but the Little Store owners dropped the appeal.
"Since there is no pending application being denied, there is no basis for any appeal," attorney Richard E. Gardella wrote to the Planning Commission. "The Little Store will continue its operations consistent with the past operations and its operators look forward to serving the community in compliance with the conditions of the use permit."
Mr. Rizk responded by warning that the restaurant could find itself in danger of having its use permit revoked (which would force it to close) "should the restaurant expand its hours of operation" beyond those he had set for it.
For now, Mr. St. Claire says the Little Store owners haven't decided if they will force the issue by opening longer hours.
"We don't know what we're going to do," Mr. St. Claire said. However, he says, the partners would never have purchased the business if they had known the limits that would be placed on them. "There's no way that we would have opened this restaurant on the old hours," he says.
And while the matter has not come before any town body for discussion, public opinion may be on the side of the Little Store. In one week, Mr. St. Claire says, the restaurant managed to get 162 signatures on a petition asking that the Little Store be opened every day and for breakfast.
The major opposition has come from neighbors, who fear that more hours will bring parking and noise problems with them.
The Guasparis and Mr. St. Claire purchased the Little Store this summer, after a sale to interior designers, the Miller/Dolezal Design Group, fell through because the town would not change the property's use permit to allow office instead of restaurant use. At that time there was strong public sentiment to have the Little Store remain a restaurant.
Mr. St. Claire owns three other restaurants, Nola in Palo Alto, Mistral in Redwood Shores and A Tavola in San Carlos. He also once managed the Village Pub. The Guaspari brothers also do restaurant remodels and custom sheet metal fabrication.
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