By Dawn De Busk

Staff Writer

NAPLES — The music schedule didn’t sound good to the neighbors.

That’s because the Entertainment Permit did not differentiate between indoors and outdoors music, and the applicant had marked down seven days a week, 12 months out of the year. Therefore, the neighbors had no idea how often music would be playing or what kind of music would be playing. 

Gabby’s Roadhouse BBQ, located at 1124 Roosevelt Trail near the Naples Fire Station, applied for its entertainment permit. The public hearing was held during the Naples Board of Selectmen meeting on Monday.

Abutters expressed concern over the number of nights that music would be outdoors until after midnight. 

It was discovered that the business-owners did not intend to have music every night. Instead, they planned to hold karaoke nights during the weekends, Friday through Sunday. The karaoke would be on the deck, which faces toward Route 302, and it would end by 11 p.m. 

Several abutters had concerns that the music would continue until after midnight since the request on the application was to have entertainment until 1 a.m. on weekends. 

Owner Gabriela Lopes Oliveira said this wasn’t the case. She stressed that her establishment was more focused on being a restaurant than a bar, and the karaoke nights were designed to attract more customers by giving them something to do. 

“I am not staying open past 11 p.m. It will be like Friday and Saturday and Sunday. I asked for other nights on the permit just in case,” she said. 

Also, the business-owners were surprised that abutters had concerns since there had been no noise complaints to them, to the town or to the police. 

“We weren’t prepared. We didn’t receive any notice from neighbors or lawyers. We didn’t hear any complaints,” said Tiffany Oliveira, the owner’s daughter who manages the entertainment. 

The Entertainment Ordinance that was passed two year ago, which required notifying abutters of entertainment permit public hearings, did not come into play last year because of COVID-19 related restrictions, according to Naples Town Manager John Hawley.

In the end, the selectmen voted to table the approval of the Entertainment License and recommended that first the restaurant owners and neighbors sit down and come to an agreement about the outdoor music schedule. It was determined that there would be enough time to put together a plan before Memorial Day. The permit approval would be revisited during the selectmen’s next meeting on May 10. 

Chairman Jim Grattelo suggested that the permit approval be tabled.  

“I will not vote for this Entertainment Permit as it is outlined here,” Grattelo said. 

He said that it was equally important for the selectmen to support the requests of local businesses as it is to protect the individual residents in Naples.

“If we approve this tonight, we continue to perpetuate this problem. Two weeks ago, we had a neighbor crying because she couldn’t take it anymore and a neighbor who sold his house because he couldn’t take it anymore,” Grattelo said, referring to abutters of Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern.  “We should table this issue to come up with a plan” that is a compromise between the business-owners and the abutters, Grattelo said.   

“Pick how many nights you want to be outdoors. Three-hundred sixty-five (365) days a year of music outdoors— that is not going to fly,” he said to the Oliveiras. “I would prefer that you come up with a plan with the neighbors.”

In response to Grattelo’s comment that he would not approve the permit, Tiffany Oliveira spoke. 

“If you don’t give us this permit, you are jeopardizing our business,” she said.

She said that since the restaurant isn’t on the Causeway, it is not as walkable for tourists as other ones in town. Offering karaoke and possibly some acoustic music is a way to attract more customers, she said. She explained that the DJ always stops the karaoke machine by 11 p.m. The person who operates the karaoke machine said the music volume is moderate because the speakers are situated where customer sit. 

“If you stop the music earlier, you might have the support of the neighbors,” Grattelo said. 

One resident, Vicki Toole, said she had a home near the establishment and noticed that she didn’t hear music when live entertainment occurred in 2019. 

Meanwhile, earlier during the public hearing, one abutter had hired an attorney who said the entertainment permit should be an allowable use since the property was zoned rural rather than commercial and was in the middle of residential lots. 

“To recap, we would prefer for the board to deny the license,” he said, calling for buffers and soundproofing if music was allowed. 

Owner Gabby Oliveira said, “It is funny that it is an issue this year. It has not been an issue before.”

Town manager Hawley said that the town started doing abutter notices two years ago.

Grattelo said, “because of COVID, we haven’t dealt with this for a year.”

Selectman Jim Turpin had pointed out the flaw in the application, which did not show the difference between indoor music requests and outdoor music requests. 

“The prospect of seven nights a week scares the neighbors,” Turpin said. “We don’t mean to give you a hard time. We have to see both sides.”