West End stays closed
Market will operate as usual this summer
BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
Ande Grennan has a lot to consider. As proprietor of the West End restaurant and its adjacent seasonal market in Madaket, he was hoping to make significant changes to his businesses this year, but those plans will not reach fruition anytime soon.

Grennan, who has owned the property for three years, has for the last year been trying to sell the West End, either to another business manager or to someone interested in turning the place with nearly 360-degree views into a home, but has not met with success.

In January, he met with more than 50 Madaket residents to discuss changes to the property. Residents had been notified earlier that Grennan wanted to expand the market, add liquor sales and convert the restaurant into a residence.

Although the concept of adding an expanded inventory and possibly liquor sales at the market in such an outlying area was met with support from Planning Director Andrew Vorce, in part to alleviate traffic going into town, not everyone who was invited to the Jan. 22 meeting with Grennan at the West End, or who responded by email or letter to the Madaket Conservation Association, backed the proposal.

Approximately 250 Madaket residents were contacted by the MCA. Association president Ken Giles said about 60 responses had come in by last Friday, with more arriving on a sporadic schedule. Of current respondants, roughly two-thirds like the idea of expanding the market, and about half are for a larger market but against liquor sales. All agreed to the idea of changing the restaurant into a residence.

But all that is not so simple for Grennan to accomplish. For one thing, to divide the property (perhaps by condominiumizing it into two lots) to make the residence side attractive to a buyer, he will need to relocate the market and its driveway entrance to the eastern side of the parcel. And, he will need to invest a lot of personal funds into changing the hulking restaurant building into a potentially spectacular home that will cover his costs.

Last summer, after recognizing problems with staffing, inconsistent patronage and service issues, Grennan did not use the once popular second floor with its panoramic views of Madaket and spectacular sunsets. He kept open the first floor bar and dinner seating with a scaledback menu, but it was not a recordbreaking year for business.

"I'm keeping my options open through the spring, until I can decide what's best out there," said Grennan. "The meeting with residents was helpful. It was great to have an open forum and have people express their ideas. It was a good group of people with a lot to say."

Grennan said demolishing the current restaurant and returning it to its original form of a burger, hot dog and ice cream stand would be financially infeasible, so he hopes the renovation of that building to a home becomes successful. He also hopes to have plans ready within the next two months to present to the Zoning Board of Appeals and begin changes in 2008. If permissable, the market expansion would include more staples and sandwiches, and might provide hamburgers and hot dogs made on the premises.

"I'm not going to try to rush through this and railroad my ideas," he said. "Let's just get through the summer."