Preliminary approvals for two Bedford Hills restaurants

Photos show the existing front and back of the planned site for a neighborhood bar and grill at 17-19 Babbitt Road in Bedford Hills. COURTESY OF THE HELMES GROUP

By JEFF MORRIS

The Planning Board on March 9 granted preliminary site plan approval for two restaurants that will both be in Bedford Hills, though they are actually a mile and a half apart.

793 Bedford Road

The board was asked to consider a subdivision application and corresponding site plan application for property at 793 Bedford Road that is immediately adjacent to the driveway to the ShopRite shopping center in Mount Kisco. It also borders the new access road connecting that shopping center with the Kohl’s center, both of which are now under the ownership of Diamond Properties.

The subdivision would facilitate merging two lots to accommodate the restaurant project. Merging the lots will allow transfer of septic capacity from the Mount Kisco side of the line to the Bedford side, as was discussed last October. An existing concrete building on the site, that previously had an automotive use, would be repurposed. 

A public hearing was opened and promptly closed, with no comments having been made.

The board was able to complete the short environmental assessment form and then grant preliminary site plan approval. It did not move ahead to final site plan approval, as some key information is still lacking, including whether the restaurant would be dine-in or take-out. A potential tenant has not yet been decided on.

17-19 Babbitt Road

Another restaurant proposal returning to the board was for what architect Steven Helmes called “a classic small neighborhood bar-and-grill-style restaurant.” He said it will include traditional bar seating, table seating and takeout service. It would occupy a space that formerly housed an insurance office, and shares the same one-story building at 17-19 Babbitt Road with an existing barber shop, which will remain. 

Helmes said they had also gone to the zoning board, and received a variance for a deficiency in on-site parking.

The board was primarily concerned with the potential impact of kitchen exhaust on adjacent buildings that house apartments with windows on the second floor. Helmes said an air conditioning unit on the roof will be concealed by an existing parapet. He expects the building’s facade to be updated with matching signage for both tenants.

The board granted preliminary site plan approval, with the understanding that it will receive details about the ventilation system and facade.