Pennsbury Township opened a conditional use hearing Wednesday night for the owners of the Gables Restaurant to possibly have a bed and breakfast. The B&B would use two adjacent structures next to the restaurant.
Those two structures are a stone house and a carriage house at 1301 Brinton’s Bridge Road, on the corner of Brinton’s Bridge and Route 1. The stone house — the former location of Brandywine View Antiques — is on the National Register and is classified as a Class 1 Historic Resource in Pennsbury.
Gables’ owners Ann Kolenik and Alfredo Giannaccari first took the matter to the township Planning Commission last year. During that session, township solicitor Tom Oeste said 22 conditions must be met for a B&B.
Giannaccari testified Wednesday night that a B&B is the best possible use for the two buildings. He said they tried to find tenants to rent out the stone house, but there were no takers.
There are eight bedrooms in each of the two buildings, five bathrooms in the stone house, and four in the carriage house. There is also room for a studio apartment to be used by the B&B operator, Giannaccari said. Whether or not the operator would need to live there full-time or only when there are guests is something that needs to be determined.
Giannaccari also said they plan to have an onsite septic system and is waiting for Chester County to approve that.
Parking does not appear to be an issue. A total of 19 spaces are needed for the B&B, one for each of the 16 bedrooms, one more for the operator, plus two more. Kolenik said last year that they have that number.
There will be no cooking in either of the two buildings. The Gables will provide breakfast but might cater gatherings for guests. In addition, Giannaccari said, there may be an agreement with nearby Margie’s Cuisine to deliver lunches.
The maximum length of stay would be 14 nights.
The hearing was continued to March 20. Kolenik and an architect from Kloppman Architects are expected to testify then.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
