Tom and Ellen Dore didn’t own the Skybox Bar and Grill when it was Andy’s Tavern and the bar was a hotspot of trouble on Brown Street. The residents of the neighborhood, as well as the city, seem to recognize that now.
Brown Street residents and the owners of the Skybox have reached a new understanding-they agree to disagree. Residents say they know they can’t stop the bar’s liquor license, but neighbors have talked with the owners and petitioned the city for help keeping things quiet.
“We’re brushing them with the tar from Andy’s Tavern, and it’s just not them,” said Cindy Murphy of the Frenchtown Neighborhood Association, who now said she endorses the license renewal. “I think the Dores are really trying to address the concerns that the neighbors have. They’re trying to be good neighbors and also business people.”
The Westbrook City Council will vote on renewing the liquor license for Skybox at a meeting May 1. The state actually controls the renewal, but a vote in favor of renewal by the council would amount to acknowledgment that the bar’s new owners are working to make the bar more neighborhood-friendly.
Since taking over the space, the Dores have done a number of things to make the bar a nicer place and reduce its negative effect on the neighborhood. They completely renovated the interior and have tried to sway the clientele more towards families.
Murphy said the Dores should be given a liquor license renewal, but she and other neighbors will be watching them and will let the owners know if things are happening that make the neighbors uneasy.
Tom Dore said he has plans in the coming months to make Skybox even nicer. He said he plans to install a canopy awning with recessed lighting to brighten up the outside area. He’s also expecting to put up new siding on the outside of the building.
“Once I get done with the outside, I’ll be pretty happy with it,” said Dore. The improvements will “dress up the outside of the business a lot. It’ll help the community and bring business.”
Dore said he wants the place to be a neighborhood bar. He’s even planning a neighborhood night for families to gather at the bar and would like to see it be a regular thing. “I’m all for it,” he said. “It would be great.”
Dore said he was taken aback by the City Council’s decision to delay a vote on the renewal last month.
“I was kind of surprised by the last meeting,” he said. “It kind of took me by surprise.”
City Council Brendan Rielly said he knows the Dore’s have worked to make things quieter, but he still has concerns about noise and drunkenness in the area. “Despite everyone’s best efforts, a bar and a neighborhood just aren’t a good mix,” he said.
The city council decided to delay a vote on the liquor license last month so they could gather more information about keeping the bar’s impact on the neighborhood down. The decision on the renewal lies with the state, but the council seems intent on voting regardless. A few years ago when the bar had different owners, the council voted not to renew the license and was overridden by the state.
Dore said he’s already made an effort to make the bar more neighborhood-friendly. He’s put foam panels on the back windows when they have bands play, and he takes regular trips outside to see if the noise is too much and to make sure people outside smoking aren’t being too loud. He hopes the awning and more lighting will do more to keep things quiet.
Murphy the Frenchtown Neighborhood Association has met and talked with the Dores on two occasions since the council decided to delay voting on the liquor license. She said both meetings were very good ones, and the neighbors and the Dores have a much better understanding of one another now.
Murphy also said something that came out of the meetings was the realization that the neighborhood and the Dores need the city’s help in their efforts.
Subsequently, the Dores and a number of Frenchtown neighbors met with Mayor Bruce Chuluda, City Administrator Jerre Bryant, Police Chief Paul McCarthy, Council President Brendan Rielly, and City Councilor Dottie Aube, among others.
“I think we came away from it with a relatively good feeling,” said Bryant. He said the city would be looking into adding more streetlights on Brown Street in the area of the bar.
McCarthy said police plan to assign a two-man unit to patrol the area of Brown Street and Main Street between Cumberland and Bridge streets. As soon as school is out, School Resource Officers Brian Dell Isola and Dan Violette will be working full-time on their patrols. McCarthy said the unit will patrol all summer long in a variety of fashions-in a marked car, unmarked car, by bike, on foot, uniformed and plain-clothed.
The city council will vote on a Skybox liquor license renewal on May 1 at 7 p.m. in room 114 of Westbrook High School.
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