The former J.L. Murray optician property (left) will soon be taken over by an expansion of McNally's Tavern (right). (Photo by Pete Mazzaccaro)

by Brendan Sample

One of the most iconic eateries in Chestnut Hill is planning to expand its current location to accommodate for more customers and rising costs. McNally’s Tavern, 8634 Germantown Ave., is planning a three-phase project that will provide more seating, prep areas and bathrooms on the first floor of the building, as well as modify the facade between the first and second floors of the building.

With the project requiring zoning approval, the proposal went before the Chestnut Hill Community Association’s Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee at its latest meeting on Nov. 1.

The owners of McNally’s are planning to enact the three phases of their project over the course of approximately one year, with the restaurant remaining open during that time. The phases will focus on opening up the structure of the first floor, full interior renovations and making modifications to the facade. In order to gain the necessary space, they will be expanding into the adjacent building at 8632 Germantown Ave., formerly occupied by J. L. Murray & Co., opticians.

With McNally’s facing rising costs of operation, some of which have been brought on by new taxes in recent years, the owners felt that an expansion would be the best course of action. The current plan calls for a finished restaurant that will ultimately be about twice the size of the current area of the restaurant. The new space will not be completely dedicated to seating areas, with one of the most notable changes being that the restrooms will be moved from the basement to the first floor.

For the most part, the LUPZ had no issues with the plan, as no committee members brought up any serious problems. There was some discussion on the building materials for the facade, with 8632 Germantown having brick and aluminum and 8634 having stucco. The committee questioned whether it would be feasible to returned to using all brick, and the owners will be investigating whether or not that would be doable.

The committee members ultimately expressed not only their approval of the plans, but also their appreciation for the iconic look of the restaurant. Though McNally’s is not listed on any official historical register, the restaurant has been around for nearly 100 years and has kept its current look since 1964.

With this in mind, the owners have been committed to striking a balance between getting approval on the project from the necessary committees like the LUPZ while also ensuring that the changes do not lead to any sort of “culture shock.”

After discussing the plans, the LUPZ proposed a motion to support the project as it stands, which passed unanimously. Though the support passed without any conditions, there is an understanding that the committee will be kept informed on the progress of the renovations at future meetings.

William O’Brien, attorney for McNally’s owners, acknowledged that while the planning process has taken longer than they had anticipated, he feels that progress will be made once permits are approved.

In addition to the McNally’s plans, the LUPZ also continued discussions on potential changes to its guidelines. Much of the proposed changes focused around increasing the committee’s minimum required members per meeting, or quorum, and introducing the option of having a rotating chair. With the quorum currently set at one-third, or four of the current 12 members, some committee members expressed their concerns that this is ultimately too small a percentage to ensure that meetings accurately reflect the group’s input. Under this guideline, motions can potentially be approved without having a majority of the LUPZ present, so a proposal was made to increase the quorum to at least 50 percent.

Discussions on a rotating chair came from the fact that the committee’s co-chairs, Bradley Flamm and Cynthia Brey, have ultimately not been able to make many meetings since they have been elected. Though Flamm was on hand at this meeting, he did acknowledge that it has been difficult for him to attend meetings on a consistent basis, and supported the idea of having a different committee member fulfill the duty of chair at every meeting.

“I feel like I really haven’t been fulfilling my requirement as co-chair, and the LUPZ hasn’t had a strong chair for about a year now,” Flamm said. “That said, the committee has still been getting along just fine despite that fact.”

Revised guidelines focusing on increasing the quorum and introducing the option of having a rotating chair will ultimately be presented at next month’s LUPZ meeting and then go in front of the CHCA for potential approval.

Brendan Sample can be reached at brendan@chestnuthilllocal.com