Pascale Bakehouse in Fayetteville is moving to DeWitt — the result of neighbor complaints and a village of Fayetteville mandate that would be cost prohibitive for the business.
“Roughly three weeks ago, I received an email from the Village of Fayetteville that stated through Chapter 55 we [Pascale Bakehouse] are a ‘nuisance and disruption to the area,’” said Neal Pascale, owner of the bakery.
Pascale said about seven of his neighbors filed a petition to the village with complaints about excessive exhaust fan noise and delivery traffic being created by the bakery.
Pascale said Fayetteville Mayor Mark Olson suggested fixing the exhaust fan noise complaint by tilting the fan 90 degrees. Pascale consulted an engineer who said the fan is with compliance with New York State codes and to tilt the fan as suggested would not only have a negligible effect on the noise it generates, it would also cost about $2,000.
“The bakery is doing okay, but it’s not that lucrative to afford paying to move the fan,” Pascale said. “It’s easier for us to move because this issue with the neighbors has been going on for several years.”
The bakehouse, which has been in the location on Brooklea Drive in Fayetteville for four years, will be relocated to Drumlins Country Club in DeWitt, where the Pascale family currently runs an Italian Bistro. The move will occur once the building they are currently in is leased to another tenant, Pascale said.
He said the DeWitt business will run like the bakehouse in Fayetteville and employees are welcome to make the move too.
“No one will lose their job from this relocation,” Pascale said.
Many of the bakery’s neighbors and patrons are unhappy about the move, and submitted a petition titled “Save the Bakehouse” to the village on Oct. 27. The petition had more than 200 signatures from residents who felt the bakehouse was not a nuisance and its removal would be a loss for the area.
In a letter to the editor regarding the petition, Olson said, “The village never wants to lose any vital business in our community and contrary to what has been written or reported the village never asked the bakery to leave the village … I know many residents are upset but please be assured we did everything we could to work with the neighbors and the bakehouse to resolve the complaint. In the end, Pascale’s chose to relocate. The balance of businesses’ and residents’ quality of life is something I take seriously.”
Hayleigh Gowans is a reporter for the Eagle Bulletin. She can be reached at [email protected].
