Following a public hearing at a meeting on Oct. 28, the Westbrook Zoning Commission approved an application for a Krauszer’s convenience store and deli to open at the site of the former Dukin Donuts located at 977 Boston Post Road. However, the commission included several provisions with the approval.

The application from Tejas Patel was filed last month. Krauszer’s is a common chain with stores in several local communities. The stores typically have a deli, a few aisles of common household items, and snacks and beverages. Per a statement of use, “the applicant is not proposing any exterior modifications to the structure. The Krauszer’s store will include a deli preparing and serving takeout sandwiches and associated items. The operator will also offer hot and cold beverages, snacks, and general household sundries for purchase.”

The commission unanimously voted to approve the application, albeit with some conditions, after several residents voiced concerns about the application during a public hearing. The original application sought to have hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, the commotions said the latest store could stay open was 8 p.m. The applicants agreed to that condition.

The commission’s approval also included a condition that prohibited the store from selling cigarettes or tobacco products, vapes, and lotto tickets. The

Other conditions required that trash be picked up during business hours only, trash cans be placed in the parking lot and allowed the applicants to make minor changes such as painting the building. Another condition stated that the store could sell no alcohol, something the applicant was not proposing to do anyway under the application.

Commission chairman Harry Ruppenicker Junior explained that the previous use of the property as a Dunkin Donuts had been nonconforming. Under the town’s zoning regulations, new applicants are allowed to file an application for something that is also a nonconforming use, but the proposed new use cannot be a more intense nonconforming use.

The applicants estimated that 85% of the proposed business would be people buying food and a beverage or snack. The other 15% would be people buying other items. Ruppenicker explained after the meeting that while the deli counter service and assorted foods would be a similar use, in the commission’s opinion, the other sales would be an expansion of the nonconforming use, which is prohibited. Ruppenicker also said the input from the neighbors weighed in on the decision.

The vote came after several speakers voiced concerns at a public hearing held earlier in the evening. Meri Louise Wick and Marcus Little own the Westbrook Inn and the Captain Standard House. One business is directly across the street from the vacant Dunkin Donuts where the proposed Krauszer’s would go in and the other is adjacent to it. Wick and Little told the commission they were concerned a convenience store wouldn’t mesh with the neighborhood's character. While the store is on Route 1, residential roads are nearby. The pair further argued that there had been trash in their yards when the Dunkin Donuts was open. They said that a convenience store may add to that litter especially if tobacco or lotto tickets were sold on site. They said they were worried about increased traffic and noise in the area, which could disturb guests at their businesses.

Those concerns were largely echoed by other speakers at the hearing, such as Westbrook Council of Beaches President Pat Macarelli, who said beachgoers frequently saw trash on the beach when the Dunkin Donuts was open. Some noted they were in favor of the deli portion of the proposed business but said they were more uncomfortable with the convenience store aspect.