A proposal to demolish an aging building and replace it with a growing national drive-through coffee franchise appears to have scuttled the Captain Seas restaurant in Wallingford.
The Wallingford Planning & Zoning Commission will conduct a public hearing Wednesday on a special permit application for the project at 905 North Colony Road (Route 5). The location has been home to the restaurant, known for its seafood, for 15 years.
Larry Merriam, manager of Fulton Forbes Inc. in Southport, which owns the property, said late Monday that the restaurant’s 15-year lease will not be renewed when it expires next month.
The property’s new tenant, Merriam said, will be 7 Brew, a strictly drive-through coffee chain that is growing nationally. Based in Arkansas, the chain has more than 100 locations in 24 states, but none in New England.
Merriam said the existing building on the property needs to be demolished.
“The building is very old and in bad repair,” he said. “It’s just not in anyone’s best interest to continue to operate there.”
Fani Manos, who has owned and operated Captain Seas with her husband Andy for 15 years, declined to comment.
Merriam said he helped the couple look for a new location for their restaurant, but “it was just not possible. She’s going to close the business.”
He added that he is “giving her some money to leave,” though he declined to say how much.
“She was a tenant for many years,” Merriam said. “My father started this real estate business, and he had great respect for her, so I’m taking care of her on the way out.”
If the special permit is approved, he said, Captain Seas will have 45 days to vacate the property. He added that the demolition and construction of a new building would be handled by 7 Brew.
The public hearing on the application will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in council chambers in Town Hall, 45 South Main St.
