May 11, 2014

Barley Vine owners push Renaissance plan

This is another open letter, from the owners of the Barley Vine restaurant on Main Street:

Our Viewpoint on the Proposed Renaissance Downtown’s Phase 1 Development Plan.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that we, Victor & Terry Lugo, owners of Barley Vine at 182 Main St., Bristol, and homeowners in Bristol, are supporters of the proposed Phase 1 downtown development plan. We are confident it provides the best opportunity for success in Bristol’s downtown.
We believe in Bristol and the proposed Phase 1 plan because it’s similar to our experience opening Barley Vine on Main Street.  We had to adjust our business plan to meet lenders’ expectations at the time. We assumed more risk ourselves, because investors and lenders didn’t believe in Bristol or a restaurant on Main Street.
Now, investors and lenders call frequently.  Why?  Because we proved the concept works in Bristol.  Like the plan presented by Bristol’s partners, Renaissance Downtowns, we have to prove the concept and show that we can create a vibrant and viable downtown Bristol. 
Recently Renaissance Downtowns delivered on another milestone, the financial plan for Phase 1.  It can be downloaded from this website: http://www.bristolct.gov/documentcenter/view/3437 .
The plan says, building (A) a 4 story building will contain 100 residential units with 2,000sf of retail/service space on the ground floor.  We could really use an opportunity to access 100+ people, along with their friends, living across the street.
As Bristol residents for 10 years, a distressed 15-acre parcel in the heart of our city, generating no revenue and adding no lifestyle benefit has been proven not to work.  A vibrant mixed-use development is a model that works in countless communities throughout Connecticut and the rest of the planet.
The plan is detailed and we encourage those of you who want to make informed decisions to review the plan and come to the May 19, 2014 meeting at Nuchies in Forestville at 6:15 pm to learn more.
We’ve risked much because we believe in ourselves and Bristol. We urge those of you who believe in Bristol and want to see Bristol have an opportunity for success to consider and support this plan.
Thank you,
Victor and Terry Lugo
Owners, Barley Vine

Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

flawed logic. Small businesses come and go. Apartment buidings and their problems last forever.