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With Permit Amended, Topless Cafe Set to Open in Vassalboro

November 17, 2009 - VASSALBORO -- Time to make the coffee and doughnuts – again.

The Planning Board on Tuesday night voted 3-0 to approve an amended permit for Donald Crabtree to operate his Grand View Topless Coffee Shop out of an office trailer on his Route 3 property.

After receiving approval, Crabtree said he planned to open today at 6 a.m.

"This will get me back on my feet," Crabtree said.

Crabtree's original coffee shop building, which was also his home, burned to the ground June 4 during a late-night fire that investigators say was intentionally set. The property was not insured.

The fire came the same night Crabtree was before the Planning Board seeking changes to his existing permit that would have made the topless coffee shop more like a strip club.

On July 14, Crabtree won permission from the Vassalboro Planning Board to construct a new, 3,000-square-foot building on the existing property to replace the one that burned down. That permit allowed him to serve up to 80 customers, up from 25, with hours of operation from to 6 a.m. to 1 a.m.

Planning Board members said Tuesday's approval is considered an amendment to the July permit, and will allow Crabtree to run the business out of the 12-foot-by-60-foot trailer until the new building is finished.

Crabtree said he remodeled the trailer, installing a handicap-accessible bathroom and ramp, a small kitchen, an office and seating area. Because the trailer is less than 3,000 square feet, a permit from the Fire Marshal's Office is not required.

The fire marshal says the trailer's customer capacity is 47 people, Crabtree said. It sits on a concrete slab, where it's hooked up to sewer, water, electricity and telephone service.

Paul Mitnik, the town's code enforcement officer, said he inspected the trailer Tuesday and found it met town safety codes. Mitnik and Crabtree also agreed that the seating capacity allowed by the fire marshal was probably too much, so they agreed on a limit of 35 patrons.

The major issue discussed by Planning Board members was the large pile of debris left on the property from the burned building. Crabtree estimates it will cost him at least $14,000 to remove the pile, which he thinks is about 1,600 square feet in size. Crabtree said he has already removed three dump-truck loads and "it hasn't made a dent."

Board members debated what time frame Crabtree should be given to remove the debris, which they said is unsightly and potentially an environmental and safety hazard.

During sometimes tense exchanges, Crabtree argued he should not have to remove the debris immediately because of the cost. If the topless coffee shop doesn't reopen, "I'll move out of town and that pile stays; you guys get it," he said.

"You don't need to threaten us," Douglas Phillips replied.

Board members and Crabtree agreed that, starting in 90 days, he would begin to remove the debris and continue to do so at a rate of one 40-cubic yard truckload per month. The pile must be gone by November 2010.

Crabtree said he hopes to have the pile removed by next summer.

"I've had five months to think about it and I've made the choice to make this right," Crabtree said. "I don't like looking at the pile myself, but you got to start somewhere."

By SCOTT MONROE, Morning Sentinel November 11, 2009


Lakes:
Regions: Belgrade, Mid Coast


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