Restaurant Depot continues in talks with Londonderry officials regarding its hoped for location at Meadow Lane and Button Drive.
Attorney Morgan Hollis, who represents the restaurant supply wholesaler, said discussions are ongoing.
“We continue to proceed with those discussions,” he said.
Hollis represented Restaurant Depot when it presented a conceptual proposal at the Planning Board on Oct. 9.
Restaurant Depot Chief Executive Officer Stanley Fleishman said they had heard that some Planning Board members want the restaurant supply business to locate in another part of town.
“We aren’t looking for any loopholes,” Fleishman said. “We want to be in Londonderry but we need to be in a convenient location for our customers. We don’t generate as much traffic as a big box retail store generates, and we aren’t as flexible as to where we can go.”
Fleishman emphasized that his company wants town support.
Hollis said Restaurant Depot serves as a supplier to restaurants. “It’s similar to a Costco type of operation except the customers are restaurateurs, not the general public,” Hollis said.
The proposed building was described as 55,000 square feet with a potential 9,500-square-foot addition. A photograph of the proposed building showed a flat-roofed building with a canopy overhang in the front and awnings over the windows.
Board member Chris Davies at the time asked staff whether a business like Costco might move in if the restaurant supply business moved out, given the size of the building. Comprehensive Planner Jon Vogl said it would be up to the Planning Board as to what would go into the building.
Board Chairman Arthur Rugg said the Heritage Commission, another panel that the developers would have to go before, would have a hard time with the design of the building, as the commission likes peaked roofs and a colonial design. The Heritage Commission makes advisory recommendations to the Planning Board, and Rugg chairs both panels.
Town Planner Cynthia May and Vogl, when contacted this week, said they were unaware of any decision by Restaurant Depot not to come to Londonderry, and Fleishman said he was still hopeful about getting the town’s support at the location chosen.
“I’ve been in conversations with them since the meeting and things are moving,” May said.
Town Manager Kevin Smith said that he too was working with Restaurant Depot on their desired location.
“There are basically three hurdles: the size of the building, the design, and road improvements to Route 102, The road improvements are more of a state issue as it is a state road, but the other two the town can look at and work on,” Smith said.
Smith said Restaurant Depot’s coming to Londonderry would be good for the town.
“They have a great reputation and wherever they go, it’s a benefit to small business and it adds to the overall tax base,” he said. “When you talk about restaurants, you have to include all of them. Pizza shops, mom and pop sub shops, everything, including restaurants like the Coach Stop. We’re talking about (restaurants) here in Londonderry but also Manchester, Windham, Hudson, Salem and all the surrounding communities.”