Supervisors Approve Transfer Of Liquor License To Newtown Restaurant

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — Patrons of Piccolo Trattoria in the Newtown Shopping Center will soon be able to order alcoholic beverages with their meals.

On Wednesday night, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve the inter-municipal transfer of a liquor license from 198 Lincoln Highway, Fairless Hills, to the Italian restaurant in the Newtown Shopping Center.

The township currently has 14 active liquor licenses. With the addition of Piccolo, that number increases to 15 with one in "safe keeping" pending activation by the Capital Grill, which plans to open this year at the Village of Newtown Shopping Center.

The license will allow restaurant owner Fahmi Elabed to begin serving alcohol as a complement to its food at its newly expanded 6,000-square-foot, 147-seat restaurant at 32 West Road. In addition, he plans on adding a 10- to 12-seat bar area to the inside of his restaurant.

Elabed told the supervisors that the sale of alcoholic beverages would be used to complement the food being served with food making up 80 percent of the sales and alcohol about 20 percent.

He also said employees would be required to take the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board's Responsible Alcohol Management Program, which provides employees with training to identify minors and to recognize visibly intoxicated patrons.

The expansion of the restaurant into the former Dogs and Cats Rule store next door has allowed Elabed to change to a full-service concept offering lunch, brunch and dinner seven days a week with a menu featuring Italian, Mediterranean, American, and fusion dishes. He's also planning on operating a small catering area inside the restaurant that will serve up to 100 private guests.

The supervisors made their approval of the license transfer contingent upon the restaurant not allowing music of any type on its outdoor patio.

Elabed argued that he has no neighbors around him that would be impacted by the music. The supervisors, however, said they needed to be uniform in their enforcement, having disallowed music of any kind at other establishments in the township, including Iron Hill and Starbucks.

"At other restaurants, we have prohibited outdoor speakers, basically including Starbucks, Iron Hill, and Ardana. All of those have complied with not having outdoor speakers," said Supervisor John Mack.

Supervisor Chairman Dennis Fisher said he wouldn't have a problem with live music inside being audible on the patio, but he'd be against any kind of speakers on the patio.

As part of the expansion, the eatery is constructing an 80-seat covered outdoor dining area at the far western end of the shopping center. A knee-high wall will surround the patio area to protect diners from the parking area and access road.

The grassy area, where the outdoor seating will be located, had been held in abeyance by the shopping center for six additional parking spaces. Those spaces will now be held in abeyance across the street from the outdoor dining area with a future crosswalk planned between the end of the shopping center and the future parking area.

In order to remain viable in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Elabed told the supervisors in 2022 that restaurants now require an outdoor seating component for its customers.

Piccolo secured zoning relief for the project in April 2022, including a variance to permit 59.87 percent impervious coverage ratio, representing a .22 percent increase over what is presently permitted.

A variance was also granted to permit the shopping center to continue to maintain 953 parking spaces, of which 169 are "held in reserve” whereas the patio addition would have required the construction of an additional 15 parking spaces.

The zoning board did add a condition that the outdoor seating area remains outdoor seating and cannot morph into de facto permanent seating.

Piccolo also operates restaurants in Doylestown Township at the Barn Plaza and in Pennington, New Jersey.

Piccolo Trattoria is known for its Italian food, including its take-out pizza, and as a destination for intimate gatherings for family and friends. All three locations offer an atmosphere of Old World ambiance with Italian flair, creativity, and quality.