Erin Murphy will be able to offer amplified outdoor live music at her downtown restaurant after all, but it will be on the back deck, not out front as she initially requested.
After two charged meetings of the Select Board last month that ended with the board denying her a permit, Murphy and Select Board member Charlie Bletzer met to talk over a new plan for Su Casa on Main Street.
Murphy had sought a permit for live music in front of the restaurant. But after much discussion – led by Bletzer – the board turned her down by a 3-2 vote, citing concerns that it might compete with music drifting out of open storefronts on the street and could disturb residents living above restaurants and retail spaces.
Bletzer, who was adamant in his opposition to the music permit, also expressed concern about Su Casa tables he said blocked the sidewalk on three occasions. He said their placement meant people in wheelchairs would not have been able to get by.
After the July 23 Select Board meeting, Murphy came up with an alternative: She suggested offering the music of Pat and Mal Fey out back on the 20-by-20-foot deck the restaurant added during the early days of the pandemic. At the time, Su Casa offered seating under a tent on the deck, before the town came up with an outdoor dining plan that included parklets. After the summer of 2020, Su Casa never reopened the back deck, Murphy said, because the restaurant did not have the staff to support three dining spaces — in front, inside, and out back.
Her new proposal was approved unanimously by the Select Board Tuesday night.
“I thought it was a great plan,” Bletzer said. “I’m all for the amplified music, contrary to what some people think.”
The difference, Bletzer said, is that there are no neighbors out back, as the deck faces Burial Hill.
“I don’t think the folks on Burial Hill are going to complain about noise,” he told the Independent in a subsequent interview. “She’s got a plan that will work.”
Bletzer also likes the prospect of some customers parking on School Street – which runs alongside Burial Hill – potentially opening spaces on Main Street.
“This is a win for everybody,” he said during Tuesday’s meeting.
Murphy told the Independent that she plans to have 14 to 20 seats on the deck “ASAP,” adding that it is cooler there than out front or inside. The restaurant does not have air conditioning.
“Sometimes things can get lost in translation,” Murphy said about her first two encounters with the Select Board.
Bletzer said that, in retrospect, he might have acted differently.
“If I could take back a few weeks, maybe I would have gone and met her,” he said.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.