Whitney Brewery plans on track after appeal

Plans for a new restaurant and brewery in Hamden are on track again after the Planning and Zoning Commission last week approved plans following the appeal of an application it previously approved in November. 

Bob Chicoine and Kevin Fitzsimmons – owners of Dockside Brewery in Milford, are planning to open Whitney Brewery at 2323 Whitney Ave., which has a total interior space of almost 13,000 square feet. 

Plans call for a 4,400-square-foot restaurant, a 2,500-square-foot brewery, a 5,200-square-foot kitchen and storage area, and a 300-square-foot office. 

Whitney Brewery is the proposal by HC2 Associates LLC, an affiliate of New Haven-based C.A. White Associates, and Schaffer Associates, Michael and Anthony Schaffer and Susan Ryan.

The brewery will have a rooftop terrace and 7,500-square-foot outdoor seasonal beer garden with movable seating, fire pits and space for outdoor games. The 2,000-square-foot second story wil used as a private party room or for extra seating. The main dining room will be expanded by 540 square feet, with a 300-square-foot vestibule also added on.

The first floor can accommodate 278 people, including the outdoor spaces, while the second-level could hold another 160 seats.

Following the original approval, some nearby businesses appealed due to concerns about parking. Developers at a meeting last week addressed their concerns.

Proposed plans require 107 parking spaces for the brewery, but developers said there is ample parking between the surface lot and garage, which have more than 800 spaces between the two. 

Both parking areas will be available to both brewery patrons and other area businesses.

The building sits on .59 acres next to Freedom Park, on the corner of Dixwell Avenue near other retail shops and restaurants.

The Dockside team had originally pitched an October 2023 opening, but it is unknown if the delay in plan approval will move that timeline back.