Southwick Planning Board Sends Crepes Tea House Permit Hearing to March

Planning Board · Meeting of February 3, 2026

Southwick Planning Board delays Crepes Tea House outdoor permit decision, sets March 10 return date. The board, chaired Tuesday by Vice Chair Dave Spina in the absence of Chair Jessica Thornton, voted unanimously to continue a public hearing on a multi-part special permit modification for Crepes Tea House at 157 Feeding Hills Road, with owner Art Rubinskas seeking to extend a nonconforming outdoor seating use through gazebo one only. Attorney Rachel Fancy of Fitzgerald Law outlined a seasonal seating proposal, with gazebo one open for reserved private events April 1 through October 31 and locked the remainder of the year, cycling 10 bar seats between 83 interior seats and 20 outdoor seats.

A neighboring resident cited a repeated pattern of past violations, asking the board how conditions would be enforced: "I just want to know that if there's going to be checks and balances, that things are going to be done accordingly." More than a dozen community members and employees spoke in support of Rubinskas, and the board agreed to wait for the Board of Health's written response to the seating condition proposal before acting.

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Source: the Planning Board meeting of February 3, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.