A new barbecue restaurant got the go-ahead on Wednesday at the Zoning Hearing Board’s monthly meeting in WILKES-BARRE.
Bulldog BBQ has been a curbside and take-out restaurant for the past eight years and will now have a permanent location at 773 S. Franklin St., a long-empty lot formerly the site of the former PanAm Silk Mill.
Owner Vincent Balint bought the property from the city back in April 2023 for $65,000.
Balint mentioned that the restaurant will be open four or five days a week, with indoor and outdoor seating, operating from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and will be a non-alcoholic establishment.
The application was approved with several exceptions pending any additional land development requirements.
Specifically, the board okayed a variance to waive Section 1014 of the city’s zoning ordinance, which states that any off-street parking area for 10 or more vehicles should be graded for proper drainage and paved with asphalt or concrete.
There is already an existing concrete pad on the property, and Balint hopes to pave the parking area in the future.
The variance was approved for two years, starting when the business becomes operational, and the board will review the variance once that time is up.
Balint aims to open Bulldog BBQ in the fall.
The board also approved an application by KB Worship Centre International Ministries, an Evangelical Christian Church founded in 2019 in Jamaica, to establish a 900-square-foot church inside an eight-unit apartment building at 269 S. Washington St.
The church was approved for a special permission to allow shared parking of four spaces at an adjacent lot at 257 S. Washington St. and a variance to waive eight parking spaces for the proposed use.
The small ministry currently seats 50 people, with Sunday services from 10 a.m. to approximately 12:30 p.m., with additional services online.
In addition, Moon Beams Daycare Center was approved for a special permission to establish a daycare home at 136 Charles St. for 8 children, along with a variance to widen the property’s driveway from 20 feet to 31 feet.
The additional driveway space will accommodate more vehicles during pick-up and drop-off in order to reduce traffic congestion on the road.
Continuances
Several applicants were approved for a continuance, including AMZ Property Preservation, which applied for a variance to establish a property preservation business inside a 2400-square-foot vacant commercial building at Rear 57 W. Chester St.
The request was made after the board suggested the business owner consult a professional land surveyor to draw up a site plan after questions arose from board members as well as several residents over how many vehicles would be parked on the property and where.
The business cleans out and remodels foreclosed homes in the area and plans to utilize the property to store equipment, as well as service and repair company vehicles as needed.
With nine employees and several work vehicles that would be coming and going from the property, the board requested to see a more detailed plan of how the parking lot will be laid out and organized.
Also, Alberto Rodriguez's request for permission to expand his car repair business at 777 S. Franklin St. to include body work and a used car business with a maximum of 20 vehicles in stock continued to be discussed.
Rodriquez rents the space, and his request was postponed until the next month because the property owner was absent to respond to inquiries.
The next meeting of the Zoning Hearing Board is scheduled for April 17.
