BURRILLVILLE – Two longtime town bars situated in mostly residential neighborhoods will soon be serving drinks on new outdoor patios following approval of their license applications by the Burrillville Town Council.
Toti’s Tavern at 8 Callahan School St. and Dev’s Tavern at 341 Chapel St. were approved to sell beverages on a deck or patio with unanimous votes by councilors on Wednesday, July 10. Both licenses will be up for renewal in November, and town officials emphasized the need to maintain order at both establishments with permits granted on a trial basis.
“We’re very business friendly, but we also have to be diligent to look out for the concerns of the neighborhood,” said Councilor Stephen Rawson. “We tend to be a quiet community.”
Rawson noted that while the council has granted such permits to restaurants in the past, it was their first time passing one for a business focused on alcohol.
“I think one of the concerns for many on the council – whether it’s your establishment or any establishment that’s in a residential area – is going to be the noise complaints,” said Town Council President Don Fox. “I think for this council, these are kind of like the trial balloons that we’re putting up to see how they go. We’re hoping that they go well.”
Toti’s owner Carla Manni said she intends to limit patio hours to weekends from noon to 7 p.m.
“We’re going to try this on Saturday and Sunday only so it’s better controlled,” said Manni. “It’s not being mindful of just my neighbors. I have tenants on the property. I don’t think it’s fair to them for us to be out there after 7:00 at night.”
“This is our first go at it, so we want to get it right,” Manni added. “We’ll have a better, bigger plan for next year.”
“I think that’s a good way to start,” said Fox.
The tavern, originally opened by Vincenzo “Jimmy” Toti in 1933, has remained in the Toti family in the decades since. Manni, the niece of longtime owner Dora Waterman, took over in 2022.
The requests for outdoor bars in town come following changes to Rhode Island law that govern how municipalities can regulate such outdoor service dictating that Rhode Island cities and towns cannot prohibit it or restrict the hours of operations inconsistent with the establishment’s existing license.
Dev’s owner Sheila Souviney of Chepachet pointed to the patio at Bravo Brewing Company
“It’s mostly just alcohol,” said Souviney.
Councilors pointed to several differences between the establishments, noting that Bravo is located in a commercial district, as well as a special redevelopment area.
“This is something new that the state changed just recently,” said Fox. “You’re clearly in a residential district.”
“We would definitely be closing it down before 10:00,” said Souviney, “We’re very, very cautious in making sure our customers do keep the noise down.”
Souviney said she hopes to have the Dev’s patio open on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.
“There’s not enough business to do it seven days a week,” she said.
Souviney said she expects the patio to only be open through early fall and that it will cover about four parking spots.
Real estate broker Kristen Moore spoke in favor of the application for Dev’s, noting she helped Souviney purchase the business from previous owner Michele Dolinski in 2023.
“I think they’ve done a good job being a good business in this town,” said Moore. “Everybody knows Dev’s.”
No one spoke against the application.
Councilor Justin Batalon said, “I happen to be a neighbor of Dev’s and I have nothing but good things to say.”
“I guess there’s no concerns from the neighborhood,” said Rawson. “I wish you luck in this.”
For his part, Town Manager Michael Wood warned the proprietors to use caution.
“As the council mentioned, this is a trial thing and we’re trying to help the businesses out,” said Wood. “You have to self-regulate because we will not tolerate if things get out of hand. Please do your best to be pro-active about it.Things can’t get out of hand. You’re sort of on probation.”
