Council to Gianino’s: More Info Needed Before Downtown Move

A new Italian restaurant proposed at 121 N. Kirkwood Rd. became the center of attention at Tuesday’s meeting of the Kirkwood City Council as Downtown Kirkwood retailers voiced concerns about the proposed establishment during a public hearing.

Bill Gianino hopes that the space that formerly housed three retail stores, will be the new location for the second Gianino’s, an Italian restaurant located in Sunset Hills.

But Jim Summa, owner of Summa Jewelers at nearby 115 W. Argonne Drive, said he had concerns about trash disposal and parking in Downtown Kirkwood.

Jim Roeser, vice chair of Kirkwood’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said that the proposed additional dumpster behind the building damages the area.

"It looks terrible," Roeser said, addressing the additional trash.

Gianino's Asks Council to Reconsider P&Z Decision

On June 15, the Planning and Zoning Commission rejected Gianino’s request for a special use exemption permit to begin constructing the restaurant. The lawyer representing owner Bill Gianino, Bud Pennington, urged the council to reconsider a special use exemption permit at Tuesday.

"We were told that a dumpster behind the building would be a problem on the day of the vote (by the Planning and Zoning Commission)," Pennington said. "We then submitted a plan that would place a second dumpster across the street, only to find that a recycling dumpster had been placed there."

Pennington explained that the recycling dumpster was placed across the street after the Planning and Zoning Commission visited the site with Gianino and without going through the proper approval process. He added that a number of the reasons given by the commission denying the permit were not properly discussed.

"They said that grease disposal was not properly accounted for," Pennington said. "In reality, the disposal system Mr. Gianino proposed is superior to the one currently in use in restaurants in Kirkwood."

Pennington said that parking and traffic was listed as a primary concern by the commission, but that the commission did not raise the issue during any official discussion about Gianino's.

He also indicated that several restaurants like the recently opened Ranoush (see article) were recently approved with plans that eliminated parking spaces, despite planning and zoning concerns about parking.

Gianino told councilors that he was prepared to adopt a valet service to alleviate parking concerns.

"I'm just concerned that many of the issues raised with Gianino's were raised with many restaurants in the area, and they were always resolved," Pennington said. "There may be influences here that are not being properly articulated."

Council decided not to vote on the special use exemption permit until they received more information.

Employee parking, food delivery time, valet parking and trash disposal will all need to be addressed in detail before council will vote on the measure at the next regular meeting, according to the city council following a discussion with the mayor.

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