Ko Lyn Cheang Photo
Streeter at work at Streets Boathouse Smokehouse on Front Street.
Many more of those unique smoked lobster rolls will be rolling out in Fair Haven, and jerked chicken and spicy plantains will soon be making their debut in the Hill.
That’s thanks to two swift approvals given by the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Tuesday night.
The meeting, convened via the Zoom teleconference app and hosted by Deputy Director for Zoning Jenna Montesano and BZA Chair Mildred Melendez, attracted 18 participants and presenters.
First up were two young food entrepreneurs, Taneisha Young and Damian Clarke, applicants seeking to turn a long-vacant building at 607 Washington Ave. in the Hill into a restaurant called Jammin Jamaican Cuisine. It will be their first venture.
The corner property, at West Street, was last the site of a bakery, according to Clarke and Young’s application, and this area of the Hill has few food establishments.
“We hope to incorporate our Caribbean culture into our community,” Young told the commissioners. The restaurant, which she described as designed to be a mostly take-out and lunch and dinner operation, will be open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Young said that she and Clarke have worked closely with local officials, including Hill alders and Cathy Graves of the New Haven Small Business Resource Center, .
“Everyone is excited. We just hope the board will be, too,” she told the commissioners.
They were, as the commissioners approved the requested variance to place a restaurant in a residential zone. The duo plans to open the restaurant in September.
Even the competition was supportive. A representative from Collado’s, an 11-year-old Dominican restaurant on Washington Avenue, spoke up in support and wished the Clarke and Young luck.
The commissioners’ vote of approval was unanimous.
As it was for Steve Streeter’s Boathouse Smokehouse, which opened on June 29 and has been attracting seekers of the Perfect Lobster Roll.
Streeter and his landlord, Lisa Fitch of the Quinnipiac RIver Marina at 307 Front St. in Fair Haven, came before the commissioners seeking a special exception to increase indoor seating from 8 to 30.
“This is an odd zoning designation,” explained BZA staffer Nathaniel Hougrand: Even though the restaurant is an existing use, any alteration to its proceedings requires the blessings of the BZA because the site is by a river.
Ko Lyn Cheang Photo
The discussion turned rapidly from zoning to culinary minutiae.
“I’m wondering how you smoke a lobster,” asked Commissioner Sarah Locke.
“You asked my question,” chimed in Commission Chair Melendez.
Streeter didn’t reveal his secrets. But he invited the commissioners to come down and have a taste.
Before the vote was taken, Montesano pointed out that the BZA received five letters of support for Streeter’s application.
“Since the pandemic started,” added Fair Haven Alder Ernie Santiago, “a lot [of restaurants] have gone down, and maybe won’t come back. If we have one with an opportunity to expand, we should [support it]. I went by, and it’s awesome.”
The restaurant currently has seven employees, and with the additional seating, hopes to grow that number, according to the application.