Mrs. Gus’s wins OK, but doughboy battle may not be over just yet

John Howell
Posted 7/23/15

Doughboys are doughboys, right?

Not if you’re from Rhode Island.

The name that is synonymous with doughboys in this part of the world is Iggy’s. But if you’re an old-timer from Oakland …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Mrs. Gus’s wins OK, but doughboy battle may not be over just yet

Posted

Doughboys are doughboys, right?

Not if you’re from Rhode Island.

The name that is synonymous with doughboys in this part of the world is Iggy’s. But if you’re an old-timer from Oakland Beach, there’s another name that comes to mind, Mrs. Gus’s.

Now, we’re not going to profess to know the difference between Iggy’s and Mrs. Gus’s doughboys, although we’ve been told when Mrs. Gus’s sold the land where Iggy’s stands today the recipe stayed with the Rengigas family.

Now it looks like those who love doughboys will get the chance to make comparisons, sort of like those who can make the distinction between Del’s and New England Frozen Lemonade. Better yet, for the real doughboy connoisseur they won’t have to travel far. In fact, they’ll be able to park once.

That’s because by a 4-1 vote, with chairman Donald Morash casting the dissenting vote, the Zoning Board of Review approved Tuesday night the petition of James Rengigas to demolish the house adjacent to the newly completed Iggy’s Boardwalk and erect a single-story 32 by 28-foot fast food restaurant – the resurrection of Mrs. Gus’s – where he’ll sell clamcakes, chowder and, of course, doughboys.

This has been a long battle for Rengigas, which may not be over yet if David Gravino, who owns Iggy’s with his sister, appeals the decision to Superior Court. Tuesday’s hearing lasting more than two hours was at times contentious, often laborious and skirted the obvious that the issue is competition and not parking, variances and the city’s comprehensive plan, as the experts contended.

Morash sought to make that point, asking more than once whether the experts would have a different opinion if Rengigas wanted to build a T-shirt shop on the site. While a restaurant is one of many uses allowed by zoning in Oakland Beach, engineer Steven Cabral of Crossman Engineering and East Providence zoning officer and consultant Edward Pimentel argued a building with retail on the first floor and offices on the second would be better suited for the area.

That didn’t ring with board member Mark McKenney. If offices are such a great fit for Oakland Beach, McKenney asked where they are. Cabral didn’t have an answer.

Rengigas knew he was in for a contest from the start. The board denied his first petition on the basis the restaurant lacked sufficient parking. When he returned with a smaller building and parking for 18 cars that meets the code, John DeSimone, attorney for Gravino, argued it was a revised plan and Rengigas would have to wait the required year before reappearing before the board. Rengigas’ attorney, Robert Flaherty, successfully argued it was a new petition, meaning he wouldn’t have to wait a year. But being a new petition, the board insisted Rengigas start a new application and reappear before the board.

Much of the same legal foisting filled Tuesday’s hearing with DeSimone questioning the qualifications of Realtor Robert DeGregorio to testify that Mrs. Gus’s would have no adverse effect on property values when he is not a licensed appraiser and Flaherty questioning why Cabral was offering his opinion on the effect of another Oakland Beach restaurant as an engineer.

Board members even got into the tit for tat.

DeSimone questioned what Rengigas planned to put in the basement of the establishment. Would he be storing paper goods; would there be “mechanicals” such as a hot water heater? Rengigas said he planned to use the basement for storage.

DeSimone’s point hinged on the building code and zoning. Rengigas’ plan calls for a basement with no more than six-foot clearance. Under code, he would be required to have seven feet for storage and mechanicals. However, if a basement has seven-foot clearance its square footage is considered part of the overall floor plan. The floor plan dictates parking requirements, which DeSimone reasoned, meaning that 18 parking spaces is less than 50 percent of what would be required of Mrs. Gus’s.

Board member Paul Wyrostek tired of DeSimone’s questioning.

“You’re wasting our time,” he said. “The building inspector will take care of that.”

DeSimone carried on and Wyrostek fired back, “The city will keep an eye on him. That’s the city’s job.”

And when DeSimone started answering questions for his witness, Cabral, Wyrostek asked who was the engineer. When DeSimone objected to the interruption, Wyrostek shot back, “I think you have been out of order since you’ve been here.”

Board member Everett O’Donnell observed that instead of building a restaurant Rengigas could park a food trailer on his property as the Rocky Point Clam Shack has done on Post Road.

Would Gravino object to that? The question went unanswered.

Pimentel, who gave the board a 12-page report, reasoned another restaurant would not be in keeping with the city’s new comprehensive plan. He also noted Gravino owns 10 Oakland Beach lots and in an effort to address parking concerns provides about 150 spaces, far exceeding what is required by the city. He also argued the number of variances sought by Rengigas is “intense” and overbearing for the area.

That’s not what the city Planning Department found.

Richard Crena, principal planner, reasoned in a two-page summary along with recommended stipulations to the board.

“This area of Oakland Beach Avenue has developed into a successful area for restaurants, beachfront and open space. The use of this property as another restaurant would be consistent with the surrounding uses as well as with the City’s Comprehensive Plan.”

The 15 stipulations adopted by the board require Rengigas, among other things, to erect a six-foot stockade fence along the rear of the property line, develop a landscape plan and that any basement be less than six feet high from floor to ceiling.

Comments

11 comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here

  • Scal1024

    The Gravino family ought to save the embarrassment and accept the loss. Mr. Gravino touts his local business and jobs he's created, yet once again he objects to somebody else getting that chance. I will be going to Tommy's from now on, and I recommend others do the same. It's quite obvious the Gravino family is in this for themselves, not the community that made them.

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • JohnStark

    It remains a mystery why RI has a reputation as being hostile to business.

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • InTheW

    Is that House Majority leader John DeSimone arguing to keep a new business from opening in this state? If it is I wonder what his buddy the "all economy" House Speaker would think of that?

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • PaulHuff

    Pretty low for the Gravino's to put up a fight like this. It makes me wonder if they are worried their product is inferior and that is why they need a monopoly down there.

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • stinkeone

    david gravino has got to be kidding me he's been running the two businesses for years without proper parking before he started to buy up the available properties in the midway. when he put on his first addition on iggy's he built upon city property so to be in compliance the city instead of removing parts of the building. the city sold him 600 square feet for 6,000 to give him the easement he needed. i don't know if this is right or not it's waterfront property and i question the legality of this to this day but what they sold him is the property that is in the back of the building that the city owns. it's a little over 5000 square feet that he has used since he owned mrs gus's and at one time the tropics in which he ran an over-under club. no one ever questioned him if he had enough parking to conduct these businesses. now that he is getting a little competition he becomes relentless and hires attorneys and experts to deny a competitive business. how soon he forgets that he ran his businesses with out such compliance. what gets me to this day he has a gate attached to his building that he has used to keep people from parking on city property if that isn't gall i don't know what one would call it

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • stinkeone

    correction on my post he has never owned mrs gus's he purchased an unknown business that he named iggy's

    Thursday, July 23, 2015 Report this

  • wwkvoter

    I like Iggy's, it's clean, good and fast. I would also not mind another choice. But the real "take-out" here, is whether RI is "open for business". Read the following from the story and you decide:

    DeSimone’s point hinged on the building code and zoning. Rengigas’ plan calls for a basement with no more than six-foot clearance. Under code, he would be required to have seven feet for storage and mechanicals. However, if a basement has seven-foot clearance its square footage is considered part of the overall floor plan. The floor plan dictates parking requirements, which DeSimone reasoned, meaning that 18 parking spaces is less than 50 percent of what would be required of Mrs. Gus’s.

    Saturday, July 25, 2015 Report this

  • wwkvoter

    In addition to my above post, who really thinks that a storage-filled basement would add to cars parked outside. I rest my case. RI: "the hypocrisy state" and NO, we are NOT "open for business".

    Saturday, July 25, 2015 Report this

  • stinkeone

    so if you have a six foot crawlspace six by six and 7 feet high

    utility room that would eliminate that problem but as stated a storage filled basement adding parking why

    Sunday, July 26, 2015 Report this

  • CitizenSane

    How sad that someone who wants to open a business has to beg, grovel, and fight. What a loser this Gravino character is, I'll never go to Iggy's again - it really isn't good anyway. If he had any character or vision he would see another restaurant as a win for Oakland Beach.

    Thursday, July 30, 2015 Report this

  • friendly1

    Really if everyone involved was more Christian like, stop pointing fingers and name calling. I think the community would like to see all the money spent on LAWYERS FEES to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless. People are too busy thinking of themselves. This is all about Families and their children going to eat and spend quality family time.

    Tuesday, October 13, 2015 Report this