A Center Road resident is asking the Easton Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) to overturn a zoning permit issued to Greiser’s Coffee & Market, claiming the town improperly allowed the historic general store to expand its operations without public review.
Frederick A. Lovejoy is asking the ZBA to void a 2024 permit issued to Adrienne Burke and Richard F. Greiser to use a portion of the building’s basement for food preparation. The ZBA will hear Lovejoy’s petition today, Dec. 9, at 5:30 p.m. in Town Hall.
Burke opened Greiser’s Coffee & Market in the 250-year-old building owned by three generations of Richard Greiser’s family in 2018. The building has housed a mix of uses, including a general store, post office, gas station, deli, and an antiques business during its long history.
Burke applied for a permit to prepare food in a small basement area that previously held antiques, a freezer and dry goods. She said the area is about 50 square feet and includes a movable convection oven on wheels she purchased with a Women in Business grant she won. She said she hasn’t increased her customer service area, seating or hours of operation.
“We now make sandwiches and bake pastries in the basement. There is no open flame or griddle,” Burke said.
Lovejoy, who lives on Center Road directly across from the market, claims that the Land Use Consultant/Zoning Enforcement Officer, Greiser and Burke misrepresented the change in use as an “intensification” of a pre-existing, non-conforming use (which is legal) when it was actually an “illegal expansion” to “avoid having to file a request for a variance or special permit application,” either of which would have required public input and been subject to court challenge.
He did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
Lovejoy has a separate civil lawsuit pending against Richard F. Greiser. In September, he filed a lawsuit in Bridgeport Superior Court claiming the building’s changes from an antique shop to an eatery with outdoor events and expanded hours have created an ongoing nuisance and resulted in the “loss of enjoyment of life and property.”
In his suit, Lovejoy cites increased noise, traffic congestion and smells. He can no longer leave his windows open or sleep past 7 a.m. on weekends, and patrons of Greiser’s have allegedly trespassed on his property, including urinating on it on at least one occasion and damaging his mailbox, according to the lawsuit.
Lovejoy is seeking monetary damages, punitive damages, and a court order (injunction) to limit the market’s parking spots and prohibit any activities that lack a proper permit, according to the lawsuit.
