By the Numbers: Proposed Tashmoo

There were people on both sides at the hearing on Tuesday concerning whether a liquor license should be approved for the expansion of Tashmoo Restaurant & Bar on DeHart Street.

The Walsh family, which owns Tashmoo and the nearby Dark Horse Lounge and Sona Thirteen, submitted plans to the town to buy the adjacent property at 10 DeHart St. and construct a two-story bar and restaurant that would be connected to Tashmoo across an alley. 

The heated question of the night was whether Tashmoo would be labeled as a bar or restaurant. Tashmoo representatives firmly maintained it as a restaurant that it fully met legal codes, so the expansion and liquor license should be approved.

With more than 100 people, opinions were divided with those against it bringing up concerns with litter, noise, behavior and quality of life while those for it talked about its uniqueness, the demand, and jobs.

Raymond Caselli, whose business is located in Morristown, is a licensed architect for more than 20 years and is heading up the design for Tashmoo’s expansion. 

“It’s a very long deep site … What we created here is a building that utilizes a variety of techniques to get some flexibility so that the building can change and modify within itself to accommodate a changing market,” he said.

By the numbers:

• 171—total seats on the main floor including barstools, benches, booths and the courtyard as the current design shows
• 33—number of seats on the second floor
• 228—total seats in the entire building including barstools
• 304—number of seats allowed by code: “We are well within and under code,” said Caselli.
• 4—number of bars, 1 upstairs, 1 in the rear and two small service bars up front that can be used for those waiting for a table
• 60—total number of barstools
• 122—total linear feet of bar space, 100 on the first floor and 22 on the second.
• 12—current number of employees
• 55-70—number of employees for the expanded Tashmoo
• 600—current square footage of usable open space at Tashmoo
• 1,500—current square footage of the net/gross space at Tashmoo
• 3,400—new square footage of the first floor of the proposed Tashmoo
• 1,160—new square footage of the second floor of the proposed Tashmoo
• 9,000—new square footage of the net/gross space of the proposed Tashmoo, includes the courtyard and second floor. About 1,000 is the courtyard and 8,000 is the interior. This is about 86 percent of the site’s square footage
• 69—number of Tashmoo’s current capacity
• 304—estimated occupancy of the proposed expansion

Retractable Roof

• There would be a telescoping retractable roof motorized and can open or close any time.
• On the diagram on the long side view, it’s the blue strip over the roof of the building.
• “It allows an outside dining experience, an open air restaurant or a closed dining experience for heat, rain, weather.”
• The retractable roof will be over a portion of the first floor dining room and would be flanked by two sections of rooftops.
• The mechanical equipment of the retractable roof is on a flat section of the rooftop and “is well off the street and (in the back) section of the roof of this building and screened with a wall.”
• The roof is a combination of metal and plexiglass material that would be transparent 

Second floor

“The second floor is a raised section of the back, which is over the kitchen and services area. It provides for expansion seating with a small bar and some additional storage,” said Caselli.

“This would also be where all the mechanical equipment would be house on the roof and brought down through duct work.”

Courtyard

"We created in front a courtyard that allows for waiting for tables and some outdoor seating in good weather," said Caselli. "This section would be open air year round and have no enclosures."

• The courtyard is enclosed with a series of wrought iron gates/fencing
• No access to the outside from the courtyard. The courtyard’s only door leads back into the restaurant

Basement

• This basement is partial, not full. It’s about less than half of the lot size
• Storage and prep space
• The only access is from the kitchen

Exterior

• The building material will be block construction with brick veneer and a stucco surface
• Sign on the new expansion would “mirror the existing sign”

Eric Sellin will be the head chef at Tashmoo. He said that garbage would remain the same and the dumpsters would be serviced behind the building and that “on the side of the new structure, there’s a bump out there where the dumpsters would be located.”

Deliveries would be serviced as it does now. “It would be the same truck dropping off double or triple of what it’s dropping off now … not adding an impact with adding more trucks. Just the same truck with more product.”

There were concerns among some of the council members with the potential for large groups, live entertainment and noise. Check back with Patch later for more on that and what residents, Tashmoo and council members had to say.

Related Patch Posts:

• Heads Butt Over Tashmoo Expansion Plan
• Morristown to Discuss Tashmoo's Liquor License
• Tashmoo Expansion Hearing Set by Morristown Council
• Outdoor Bar Proposal Rejected by Town Council
• Tashmoo Owners Seek Permission for Outdoor Bar
• UPDATED: Liquor License Denied for Proposed Bowling Alley
• Meeting on Proposed Bowling Alley/Bar Continues Wednesday