Maxwell's Closed, Burglarized

Maxwell’s Sports Bar and Grill closed at 1 Ives St., last week and sometime between midnight on March 24 and 1:27 p.m. March 25, someone stole 14 TVs, liquor, three kegs of beer and two video games.

“They were carefully removed,” said Capt. Thomas Wendel, spokesman for the Danbury Police Department. “None of the wires were severed.”

Wendel also said there was no sign of forced entry into the downtown eatery.

This isn’t good news for Ives Street, said Victor Aravena, who opened the Alley Way Diner, 14 Ives St., in 2006.

“I’ve seen three pizza restaurants come and go and nine other places come and go out,” Aravena said. “We’re getting Sonic, but the heart of Danbury is slowly dying. It used to be a destination.”

Right around the corner and across the Still River, Bruegger’s Bagels is poised to open next door to Papa John’s Pizza, which is next to the dance studio A Common Ground, all in a newly renovated building at the corner of Crosby Street and Lee Hartell Drive.

The poor business conditions on Ives Street are one of the issues leading the city to reconsider its zoning ordinances in that area. One was designed to create a balance between the number of restaurants and the number of night clubs.

At one point in 2008, the city argued,clubs posing as restaurants were hosting “18 to party, 21 to drink” parties that led to complaints about underage drinking, rowdy crowds and more police officers on the street.

In 2008, the Horizon Restaurant sought a permanent restaurant liquor permit, and CityCenter Danbury opposed the permit, and the city opposed the permit. They argued that during its operations with a temporary liquor permit, Horizon was not a restaurant, but a nightclub. The owner denied that.

One of the numerous changes Danbury is considering involves the ordinance that says a restaurant is a business that makes most of its money from food, while a nightclub makes most of its money from liquor. The city limited the number of nightclubs allowed. (So business owners sought restaurant liquor licenses, but served little or no food, the city argued.) Now the city is struggling to find a balance. In the economic downturn, the city ordinance seems to be getting in the way of business.

“Something drastic has to happen,” Aravena said.

It may not sound drastic, but the city is preparing a downtown plan that will look at this issue and other downtown issues with the goal of improving downtown Danbury.

“We’re evaluating the whole issue of night clubs and the food and beverage mixture,” said Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. “We want to encourage full-blown development. We may be loosening the regulations.”

Andrea Gartner, executive director of CityCenter Danbury, said Danbury has to rediscover its heart.

“The downtown contributes to the wellness and health of the region,” Gartner said.

Mark Nolan, a 19-year board member and past president of CityCenter Danbury, said what looks like a big problem on Ives Street is a “period of economic transition.”

“I’m not surprised. Look at the economy,” Nolan said. “People have fewer customers. The owner has to carry the business with no income.”

Nolan said downtown Danbury has always been the land of economic opportunity, typically because the space on Main Street is leasing for $8 to $10 a foot, while in a strip mall on the outskirts the price is somewhere closer to $20.

The landlord of 1 Ives St., JAR Real Estate, is already looking to replace Maxwell’s, said Danbury Realtor Debbie Rizzo, who works with JAR Real Estate.

“We have people flying in from out of state this weekend to look at the property,” Rizzo said. “They have things that are working in other states.”

Rizzo said Maxwell’s lasted for about a year, and it seemed to cater to a younger crowd. She said in a recession, that may have worked against the restaurant. The restaurant was opened by Tina Pacific.

“I feel for her. We were trying to help keep her open,” Rizzo said.