PORTLAND — A new restaurant may be coming to the city’s Woodfords Corner neighborhood.

On Thursday, June 20, the Zoning Board of Appeals will consider a conditional use application for the dining establishment at 34 Vannah Ave., near the intersection of Ocean and Forest avenues.

William Street resident Birch Shambaugh and his wife, Mary Fayth Preyer, are seeking approval to open a 46-seat restaurant in the first floor of the two-story building. The space is zoned for retail use, but is vacant. Besides its table capacity, the 964-square-foot restaurant would offer 18 counter seats.

“Our hope is to put a classic neighborhood eatery in Woodfords Corner,” Shambaugh said Monday. But he declined to say what type of cuisine would be served or even what the restaurant’s name might be.

For now, the ZBA documents refer to it as “34 Vannah Avenue.”

Shambaugh, who is a technology consultant, and Preyer signed a contract to purchase the building in May. The couple have combined experience of 25 years in the hospitality industry, he said.

Shambaugh said the new restaurant would bring added culinary life to an area of the city with limited dining options. Woodfords Corner is not a site of “destination dining,” he said.

“As a resident of the area, I firmly believe that there is a significant need for more neighborhood quality dining options,” Shambaugh said in his ZBA application.

William Hall can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 106 or whall@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @hallwilliam4.


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