Eli’s Wants Outdoor Seating, Apartments at 21 Daniel St.

Eli’s Restaurant Group, as part of its renovations to 21 Daniel St., Milford, is seeking city approval to construct a concrete patio for outdoor dining.

The outdoor seating area is proposed for the Café Atlantique side of the building, where currently there’s a patch of grass and benches. It’s unclear how many seats Eli’s wants there or how big the area would be.

The space is city-owned property that the restaurant would have to lease. The café has a similar agreement for a portion of its patio.

Other proposed changes, presented at a public hearing last month, include a new bar location, a 876-square-foot kitchen addition on the side of the building opposite Café Atlantique and three apartments on the second floor.

The kitchen addition would require external work but the applicants said it would not block access to the rear of apartments on River Street.

Two one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit are proposed for the second floor, which is currently used for storage.

The proposed seating for the restaurant itself is 52 spots, including stools.

Many public speakers to address the planning and zoning board at the July hearing said they were for the restaurant but against the proposed outdoor seating.

Café Atlantique owner Tina Roberts said she worries about ramifications for her patio patrons, which include couples with children who play in the grassy area.

“They could easily change that to a smoking section,” Roberts said. “Unless you can control the use then I’m definitely going to feel an impact.”

Another downtown Milford business owner, Marty Reed of Canvass Patch, said it’d be a “crime” to lose the piece of ground -- which she called a “lovely little park” -- to concrete.

Asked if the applicants might consider dropping the patio component, John Wicko, an architect representing Eli’s, said, “The position is it’s part of the application.”

River Street resident June Vidart was the only speaker to entirely oppose the application.

“Right now, I feel Milford is drowning in alcohol,” said Vidart, adding that another bar won’t benefit the city, which has become less family-oriented in her opinion.

Vidart said she worries Eli’s will turn into a nightclub like Daniel Street before it.

“Don’t be confused with the nightclub it was,” Wicko said. “There will be no live music during dinner or after dinner. It’s a restaurant, not a dance club.”

The other Eli’s locations in the state, however, do feature live music after dinner. According to the news and events page on the restaurant group’s website, Eli’s on Whitney in Hamden and Eli’s on the Hill in Branford both play live music after 9:30 p.m. on Fridays.

Eli’s plans to be open in Milford Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.

The Milford planning and zoning board will further discuss the application on Aug. 6. The meeting is open to the public but residents will not be able to address the board.