by Thomas MacMillan | Dec 20, 2010 8:23 am

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Posted to: Business/ Economic Development

With a $1 million investment, Carl Carbone aims to revive the history of an old New Haven firehouse, and maybe spark a firefighter-themed restaurant franchise.

Carbone (pictured), a Hartford restaurateur, appeared before the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Tuesday night looking for a special zoning exception for a full liquor license at his new restaurant planned for the corner of Elm and Park streets. The building at 338 Elm was a firehouse years ago, before being converted into a restaurant space called Fitzwilly’s in the 1980s. Most recently, the spot was occupied by Cosi pizzeria and sandwich shop, which closed in 2008.

Carbone said his new restaurant will be called Box 22 American Diner, after the one remaining fire call box in New Haven, in the basement of City Hall.

After Carbone convinced the board Tuesday that his restaurant should be allowed to stay open late on weekends, the BZA gave him the green light to proceed. He said he hopes to open in March. He said he plans to spend about a $1 million dollars on a gut rehab of the space. That money comes from private venture fund, he said.

Before the BZA meeting on Tuesday, Carbone shared the details of his vision over nachos at Bulldog Burrito, across Park Street from his new restaurant location.

He said he plans to serve “American comfort foods with a culinary twist.” That means, for example, macaroni and cheese using a custom blend of fancy cheeses like fontina and gruyere. You might even have it with lobster or scallops, he said.

Box 22’s menu will also include an selection of gourmet burgers and will emphasize “sharing foods” like nachos and fondue and pizza. (That’s pizza, not apizza. Carbone said he’s not trying to compete with New Haven-style pies.) Carbone said he aims to keep the prices under $17 or $20 for an entree.

Carbone said he’s had his eye on the old engine house for years, since Fitzwilly’s closed about 13 years ago. Fitzwilly’s was the first occupant after the building’s conversion from a firehouse. The bay doors that used to release engines responding to fires are now windows with multicolored tile walls below.

After Cosi closed down in 2008, a real estate broker called Carbone and asked if he was still interested in the spot.

Carbone was interested. He said he’s finally hit upon the right concept for a restaurant at the location. He said he wants to “take the history of the building and bring it to life.” Hence the firefighting-themed name: Box 22.

That happens to also be the name of an organization that provides food for firefighters battling major fires. The group started in New Haven but has since spread nationwide, Carbone said. He said he hopes to partner with the group and support it by, perhaps, donating a portion of the proceeds from certain dishes.

If things work out, Carbone said he plans to franchise the restaurant concept to other cities or other “well endowed college campuses.” There could be a Box 12 in Hartford, for example, or a Box 32 in New York City, he said.

Carbone said Box 22 will create jobs for 60 to 80 people, half of whom will be full-time employees.

Carbone acknowledged that the current economy is a challenging one to be dropping $1 million to open a new restaurant. “We feel confident the concept and the value is what you’re looking for,” he said. “I really want to be a part of this city.”

That means being a part of the city until 2 a.m. on weekends, Carbone told the BZA on Tuesday night, after the City Plan Department recommended his hours be curtailed to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Carbone said that in order to compete with nearby businesses, he needs to have the same hours as they do. “It becomes the customer’s choice,” he said. To ask a customer to leave earlier than he or she is expecting can “impede or influence their decision to return.”

Several people spoke in favor of allowing Box 22 to stay open until 2 a.m. Michael Shaffer (pictured), a member of the family company—C. A. White—that owns the building, said he and others have spent two years trying to find a tenant, every since Cosi closed. The former Rudy’s, now the Elm Bar, and the new Rudy’s, in a C. A. White property a block away, will be open until 2 a.m., he said. Carbone should be given the same conditions, otherwise it’s like “giving him a paintbrush and tying an arm behind his back,” said Ted Shaffer, another member of C. A. White.

Rex Gilliland, who opposed a patio expansion by Elm Bar earlier in the evening, was one of several to raise their hands in opposition to Box 22’s proposal. Gilliland said he was looking for clarification about exactly what the operation might look like.

“It sounded like a burger joint, but it seems to have mushroomed into something different,” Gilliland said. If it’s really just a restaurant, why is it worried about competition from bars? Gilliland asked. “Now it’s starting to sound more like a nightclub.”

After his testimony, Gilliland (at right in photo) exchanged contact information with Carbone.

“We fully intend on being a restaurant,” Carbone said. Box 22 will have a bar, but it will have only 13 or 15 seats, out of a total of 150 seats in the restaurant, he said. Plus, the bar will be on the second floor, emphasizing the restaurant portion on the first floor, he said. He asked again for the board to allow him to stay open late.

In the end, his wish was granted. The board voted unanimously to approve the request, without curtailing hours of operation, but with the conditions that the patio shut down at 11 p.m. and that there be no speakers outside.