Burger King Proposal Revived for Route 1 Site of Art Johnson’s Food Stand-July 29, 1976

The proposal for a Burger King restaurant on the Route 1 site of Art Johnson‘s familiar clam and hot dog stand has been revived four months after its initial defeat by the zoning appeals board.

A revised proposal will be submitted to the planning board for review Monday evening, planning board Chairman Thomas A. Riolo confirmed. If the board is convinced the revised plan contains modifications meriting a second look, it may waive the normal two-year waiting period binding on a plan which has been rejected by the zoning board, Thomas A. Riolo said. However, there must be solid reasons to justify reconsideration if his board is to clear the way for the proposal to return to the zoning board once again.

Jan Co. Inc., a Johnston, R.I.-based Burger King franchise holder, had previously proposed a 104-seat fully enclosed restaurant at Route 1 and Everett Street, which would require the complete demolition of Art Johnson‘s established seasonal food stand. The zoning appeals board previously voted 2-1 to deny a special permit for the restaurant on the lot, which is zoned for manufacturing. The zoning appeals board had cited concerns that a restaurant at that location could mean more noise and dust because of an expanded parking lot, more loitering in the area, and increased traffic and congestion at the busy intersection of Everett Street and Route 1.

The planning board had previously recommended neither in favor nor in opposition to the Burger King plan, but had stressed the absolute need for an adequate parking plan because of the busy corner. After the initial rejection, Jan Co. President Nicholas W. Janikies said the company chose not to appeal the decision in court, though he was vague at the time about whether it had completely given up on the Route 1 site. But, he remarked, We don’t know how we’re going to be anything but an improvement on that corner, noting that the company had spent considerable sums on engineering drainage plans for the property. Meanwhile, the familiar clam and hot dog stand, owned by Art Johnson‘s widow, continued doing its seasonal business under a lease, awaiting the outcome of the revived commercial development debate.

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger