ICONA Seeks Approval for Outside Dining

AVALON – ICONA Chief Executive Officer Eustace Mita went to Avalon Borough Council April 24 with a proposal for outside dining and liquor service on 79th Street.
Stating that he wanted to create the atmosphere of a Piazza in Italy or a café in France, Mita said establishing a “beautiful ambiance” was his goal. He added that the improvements proposed would probably not add meaningfully to his business.
The plan called for 42 seats of outside dining along 79th Street. Approximately 30 of those would be in front of the ICONA Brew Pub with the remainder located at the beach bar area at the end of the block. In order to make this happen, Mita said, the company needs borough approval to use 9.5 feet of the public right of way.
According to Frank Corrado, an attorney representing ICONA, the Planning and Zoning Boards gave approval to the concept. Corrado said that the proposal before the governing body included three items which the borough would have to approve.
One item was a color-coded 6-foot pedestrian walkway in the street at the curb which would provide a natural path for pedestrians headed to the beach while also keeping pedestrians off the sidewalk area utilized by the dining tables.
Another item was permission from the borough to encroach into the public right of way with dining tables, awnings, and planters that would be used to demarcate the service area.
The third issue for which the company would need borough approval was the extension of its liquor license so that it could provide alcoholic beverages in the outside service area.
While expressing support for the concept of outside dining in the borough, council members raised concerns about ultimate liability if an incident resulted in insurance claims or litigation.
Assistant Business Administrator James Waldron said that the Joint Insurance Fund had not yet been involved in the evaluation of risk and coverage. Council member Nancy Hudanich focused on the fact that this would be the only instance in the borough where daily liquor service would be involved in what was essentially public property, the right of way. She and Council Vice President Charles “Chuck” Covington wanted the liability issue explored before council could make any decision.
Security and noise were among other issues discussed, but they did not appear to represent the same level of hurdle for the proposal as the issue of liability.
Mita said that ICONA would be open to a solution that holds the borough harmless and absorbs all liability on the company’s insurance policies. Any such solution would need to be explored with the borough’s risk management professionals.
The meeting ended with no decision by council regarding the proposal.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.