The Hanover Planning Board unanimously decided Tuesday night to allow Everything But Anchovies restaurant to expand and add two rooms for private parties -- an increase in 72 seats.
The restaurant will expand into the spaces currently occupied by the Folk art and clothing store and the Hanover Luggage and Cobbler Shop on Allen Street.
EBAs co-owner Charlie Dowd said the expansion of EBAs will begin as soon as the shops vacate the space, and he hopes to complete the construction by Sept. 1.
Hank Truman, owner of the Cobbler Shop, said he is leaving the space today and moving to a location on 126 South Main Street in West Lebanon, which will open in two weeks.
Owner of Folk Ted Degener said he has not yet found a new location, but he is hoping to stay in Hanover. He said he must leave his present location after this weekend.
At the first of several planning board hearings on July 1, Steve Buskey, a partner in S&R Associates of Hanover, the company that owns the property, said the leases of the two shops had expired, and they were both offered new spaces.
But several community members present at the hearing said Buskey was making a poor decision in "forcing" the shops to relocate.
"Isn't there anything you can do so we don't have to go to West Lebanon for everything?" an audience member asked the board.
An Upper Valley resident said, "Hanover is becoming less and less an interesting place to visit." The resident went on to point out that the Cobbler Shop is one of only two shoe-makers in the entire Upper Valley.
At the hearing, customers of the two presented a petition against the re-locations which gathered about 1,000 signatures.
But Planning Board member Mark Severs responded, "A landowner can use the property however they want assuming they meet our requirements."
Member of the board Charles Faulkner said while the board is "sympathetic" because community members do not like losing the shops, the board has no control over the actions of S&R Associates.
Truman said he is currently in litigation with Buskey because there are discrepancies over whether his lease had expired or not. "[Buskey] wants it to be a shut deal," he said. "He wants us out of here."
Truman said he would never rent from Buskey again.
"I'm going to miss Hanover, but I have to keep going," he said.
He said his new location has free parking and better visibility, but is about the same size as his shop now.
Degener said he had asked to renew his lease, "but then all of a sudden there was this plan to not renew it."
Folk has occupied its present location for 23 years.
"We expected we would have been given more consideration," Degener said.
The planning board ruled that S&R Associates could change the use of its space from retail to restaurant space because it met the parking requirements.
However, the board is requiring S&R Associates to enclose EBAs' dumpsters to comply with a town ordinance.
At the hearing, Buskey said the enclosure will make the space tight, and he may not be able to keep the dumpster used for cardboard recycling.
