Root and Barrel co-owner Brett Murphy proposed expanding his restaurant’s outdoor seating capacity during the July 6 Franklin Town Council meeting.
Murphy proposes adding a 41-seat seating area to a 20-foot wide space between the restaurant and Town Hall.
Recent decisions by the town council would allow the restaurant to serve alcohol in an outdoor space as long as there is a barrier between diners and sidewalk traffic.
If the restaurant gets the go-ahead, the seating area could be ready in time for this year’s fall tourists, Murphy said. He feels that the seating area would not only be an asset to his business, but also a chance to improve the curbside appeal of the street as a whole.
“We’d like to see a big mural put on the wall like Sylva has and Waynesville has,” Murphy said. “People come and take their pictures in front of them and it brings some more life into an alleyway.”
Council member David Culpepper thought that giving the restaurant permission to expand made perfect sense for the town. The recently adopted comprehensive land use plan puts heavy emphasis on outdoor culture and downtown activities, so he thought creating a new lively space that’s visible as soon as drivers hit West Main Street would be an asset.
“[The plan] talks about converting alleys into dining opportunities and outdoor dining in public spaces,” Culpepper said. “I think this goes along with that perfectly.”
Mayor Bob Scott, on the other hand, felt that leasing space on town-owned property to a single restaurant would detract from space available to the general public. Not only did he worry about the interruption of foot traffic near Root and Barrel, but also that setting a precedent for the matter could begin to crowd pedestrians out of downtown.
“If we start allowing them to operate on town property, are we going to have to allow everyone else to as well?” Scott said.
Culpepper argued that if the council did set such a precedent, it could only be beneficial to residents.
“I wish there were three more people standing behind Brett saying that they want to invest in this town,” he said. “This is what this town needs.”
The council decided to research the issue more closely.
Council member Joe Collins said that legal professionals like himself make a point to study a physical space in person before making decisions about what should be done with it, while council member Jack Horton said that other town employees would likely have valuable input as well.
“I’d like to talk to some more of our staff about it,” Horton said. “I’d like us to give it a little more consideration before we call a public hearing on it.”