Cafe Habana whisperer Richard A. Webster reports that the VCC Architectural Review Committee still needs more info on "signage, lighting, fencing and sound remediation" from the proposed Cuban restaurant--which has been trying to take over the corner of Esplanade and Rampart in the Quarter for the past two years--before the plans can be considered to the VCC again. If this sounds annoyingly familiar to you, maybe it's because Sean Meenan and company have already been asked to provide that information two times already and somehow the concerns have still not been addressed.
There is also the more pressing question of how many customers the restaurant will be able to accommodate, specifically, outdoors. Per Webster:
There are two courtyard sections with a combined area of 2,950 square feet that could accommodate potentially hundreds of people. But Meenan said that much of the area would be occupied by a fountain, benches and large planters.
Meenan doesn't have to provide seating capacities for the courtyard, but is "suggested" to do so to appease neighbors. The inside dining areas will apparently allow for 172 people, which neighbors are already concerned and skeptical about, but Meenan is waiting on the fire marshall to confirm that cap. At this point maybe that lot should just become a Cane's.
