New Castle Awaits Restaurant Bid Proposals for Train Station
The Town of New Castle is once again accepting Requests for Proposals (RFP) in hopes of finding a restaurant operator to fill the town-owned building at the Chappaqua train station.
Qualified individuals and entities have until Oct. 22 at noon to submit an RFP that would provide food service at the largely vacant 112-year-old building.
According to the town’s proposal, the future operator must serve breakfast from 4:30 to 11 a.m. on weekdays. The restrooms must also be open for use by the general public on weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on weekends from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Candidates will be called in for a public interview session before the town board on Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
Supervisor Robert Greenstein said with some interior work needed in preparation for a food service establishment, he hopes that the eventual operator can move into the space and be open for business before the end of winter. He also said he is optimistic that it would be one piece to help boost the downtown.
“I think the public would like a new restaurant around there,” Greenstein said.
The tenant would be granted a five-year lease and pay monthly rent of $3,300. There would also be a five-year option to renew.
As of last Thursday, no proposals had been submitted yet, said Town Administrator Jill Simon Shapiro. A walk-through of the building for interested parties was conducted on Monday morning.
This is the fourth time in a little more than two years the town has sought a restaurateur to fill the space, but different circumstances have prevented any of the previous prospective operators from moving in. In mid 2012, Lesley Sutter, the chef at the old Flying Pig in Mount Kisco, was on track to open a restaurant in the building but she pulled out a few months later.
The following year, Carla Gambescia, owner of Via Vanti! in Mount Kisco, thought she had was on the verge of signing a lease with the town to open a version of her establishment. However, either a disagreement or misunderstanding regarding the accessibility of bathrooms to the public forced the current town board to re-issue an RFP last spring.
Then the town board awarded a 10-year lease to Leslie Lampert, owner of Cafe of Love in Mount Kisco. However, one of the candidates who had vied for that lease, Erin and Peter Chase, spearheaded a petition to force a permissive referendum, charging that the town’s RFP process was seriously flawed.
Instead of putting the issue of whether to revoke the lease to a public vote, officials withdrew it and announced they would launch another RFP process.
Greenstein said that despite the claims made in the petition drive, the current proposal is largely the same as the one that had been offered earlier this year. The biggest change is a five-year lease rather than granting 10 years after some community members questioned whether the longer term was excessive, he said.
Also, by Oct. 22, the submission period will also have been 45 days.
For more information on the RFP, interested parties can view the full proposal on the town’s website at www.mynewcastle.org. All submissions must be sent to Town of New Castle, 200 S. Greeley Ave., Chappaqua, N.Y. 10514 and to the attention of Town Administrator Jill Simon Shapiro.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/
