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Smoke on the Water Grant Application Fails

A grant application that would have allowed for the redevelopment of the vacant Saybrook Point and the former Dock and Dine property has been denied. First Selectman Carl Fortuna said the Town will continue pursuing avenues to make the idea a reality.

In October 2022, the Town of Old Saybrook and Jon Kodama, the owner of 145 College Street, announced a joint plan to seek state funding to open a year-round restaurant to rejuvenate the vacant property.

In agreeing to seek a grant, Kodama withdrew his controversial application as a sign of good faith. The application from Point LLC would have turned the former Dock and Dine property into a seasonal outdoor barbecue restaurant, Smoke on the Water.

The$7 million grant would have allowed for the reconstruction of the sea wall in the area, an easement allowing for pedestrian access, and the rebuilding of a deck along the river. Kodama would then build a permanent year-round indoor restaurant.

Anticipated upgrades to the area also would have included a pollinator garden, expanded fishing access, and allowed for better drainage.

Fortuna told the Board of Finance (BOF) that the Town expected to hear back on the application's status by December. On Jan. 18, Fortuna told the Harbor News that the grant was not approved. Fortuna added that the Town would continue meeting with representatives to find other ways to pull off the project.

"We are having a follow-up meeting with the Commissioner here in Old Saybrook on Feb. 2 to discuss the challenge grant. We are putting together a presentation and a site visit, so she fully understands the area and the needs and/or other funding opportunities for this area through DECD or any other state department," Fortuna said in an email.

Redeveloping the Dock and Dine property has been a goal for over 10 years. The popular restaurant stood at Saybrook Point until the double whammy of Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011 and Superstorm Sandy in 2012 rendered the restaurant inoperable. The property has remained vacant despite on-and-off interest in redeveloping the area over the last decade.

In 2021, Kodama and Colt Taylor, chef and co-owner of The Essex restaurant, proposed building Smoke on the Water. Since the property is located in a flood zone, the proposal called for the restaurant to use mobile trailers for food prep, office, storage, restrooms, and refrigeration which would have allowed for the trailers to be hauled away in the event of a severe storm. Per the application, the restaurant would have been open for a maximum of 180 days between April and November.

However, the Smoke on The Water application was not loved by everyone in the community. More than 70 residents of the North Cove neighborhood signed a petition objecting to the proposal based on expressed concerns about odors, noise, parking at Saybrook Point, and other related issues.

The Zoning Commission rejected the first proposal in 2021 due to incomplete information in the application, which prevented technical staff from reviewing the proposal. The application was resubmitted in 2022 before it was withdrawn ahead of the grant application.