By Greg Ellison

(Dec. 9, 2021) Following several months of back and forth exchanges over its design, plans for the 410 Social Eatery and Barroom on the corner of Pitts and William streets were approved last Wednesday by the Berlin Historic District Commission.

After rejecting initial renderings in October, the commission last month voted 4-1, with Chairwoman Carol Rose opposed, to approve the project contingent on updated renderings.

Business developers Marcos Lopez and Brandon Tolan returned last Wednesday still seeking the go-ahead to develop 410 Social at the 16 Pitts Street location.

Lopez said the goal is to create a family-friendly establishment with a welcoming interior.

“We want to open it up,” he said. “It’s a pretty dark place.

Project drawings indicate the existing bar area would remain in place at the former Goober’s Restaurant.

“We will have one wall separating the  kitchen and front of the house,” he said. “We want to try to create something to get people excited,” he said. “ We have every intention of being very active in the community.”

Lopez said despite the general focus on Main Street development, Berlin encompasses a larger area of neighborhood streets.

“There’s a lot of growth here and a lot of growth to come in the future,” he said. “We’d like to be a part of that.”

Commission member Norman Bunting said the most recent renderings address earlier design concerns, such as paint schemes and exterior surfaces.

“This is what my eye was really looking for,” he said. “I like it a lot.”

The latest design plans for 16 Pitts Street include an illuminated 48-inch round marquee sign mounted to the corner of the building and an awning painted black with the bottom portion of the structure in a charcoal gray shade.

Bunting said the black awning detail serves to make the exterior appearance flow together.

Commission member Mary Moore said the multiple meeting approval process was not intended to stymie progress.

“I know we came off as rather difficult,” she said.

Moore said the commission typically handles development proposals for Main Street.

“We haven’t been on back streets as much as Main Street,” she said. “This is the industrial working street part of Berlin.”

Moore also applauded the 410 Social sign design.

“The marquee sign will catch a lot of eyes,” she said.

Commission member John Holloway also praised the revised design and concurred the project was ready to move ahead.

“The more we were going back and forth, we were delaying the process,” he said.

Commission members’ approval, however, carried with it several stipulations: repairing the exterior stucco to match existing patterns, windows will remain as is, an awning placed on the William Street side joined by an angled corner and color schemes in accordance with the town’s historic nature.

Lopez said the new eatery would serve as a “cornerstone of the community.”

“Everyone could go in there to see friends,” he said.