A neighbor of the historic Chester Bulkley House in Old Wethersfield has filed a lawsuit seeking to reverse the town's approval of Ortigia Ristorante, the upscale Sicilian restaurant planned for 184 Main Street. Robert O'Connor, who lives next door at 180 Main Street, is asking a judge to undo the Planning and Zoning Commission's July vote and send the project back to square one.
O'Connor's suit, which appears to have been filed on August 7 and was posted to the court's docket on August 19, according to The Connecticut Scoop, names both the town's Planning and Zoning Commission and the restaurant and property ownership as defendants. The complaint alleges the commission acted illegally, arbitrarily and in abuse of its discretion, and that it failed to comply with mandatory regulatory provisions when it approved the project. No court dates have been set yet, per that same report.
The commission voted 8-1 in July to approve a special permit for Ortigia, capping total seating at 65 patrons and barring third-party delivery pickups and outdoor music, according to the Hartford Business Journal. The commission's approval includes those conditions.
A Project Rejected, Then Revived
The approval came only after an earlier, larger version of the restaurant was unanimously rejected. In January, the commission voted 9-0 to deny that initial proposal, the Hartford Business Journal reported in a separate piece. The applicant later returned with a scaled-down seating count that ultimately won approval over the summer.
O'Connor's lawsuit challenges the restaurant's approval.
His lawsuit now argues that the evidence before the commission did not support its conclusions, that the board failed to state adequate reasons on the record for its decision, and that the restaurant's approval created a condition substantially detrimental to the surrounding historical community and public safety.
Parking Puzzle Spans Three Properties
Much of the underlying dispute traces back to parking. Old Wethersfield lacks large commercial lots, so the applicant proposed a multi-property arrangement: 30 spaces at the adjacent Keeney Memorial Cultural Center, 20 leased spaces at 1 Wells Road half a mile away, and off-site staff parking at 383 Silas Deane Highway managed through geofencing software and shuttles, per the Hartford Business Journal's reporting.
That plan drew objections well beyond O'Connor's own property line. Residents on Broad Street submitted written objections opposing commercial expansion in the neighborhood and specifically rejected using public Keeney Memorial grounds, including a public basketball court, for private restaurant parking, the outlet's report notes.
Public safety concerns also surfaced in a 2026 review by the town fire marshal, which found that the second floor of the historic building has only a single approved emergency exit, limiting maximum second-floor occupancy to under 50 people. That finding is among the public-safety issues referenced in O'Connor's legal claims.
Procedural Dispute Between Town Boards
O'Connor has also raised concerns about how different town boards handled the project's record. In April, he sent a formal letter to Town Planner David Elder alleging that the Historic District Commission had been misled during a March review into believing the zoning board's January denial amounted to mere suggested modifications rather than an outright rejection, according to the same Hartford Business Journal account.
The Chester Bulkley House itself was purchased in May 2024 for $665,000 by 3E Main LLC, an entity controlled by Enriketa Kroi, with project applicant Erigels Kroi managing 3E Property Management LLC, the outlet reported.
Town permit filings describe Ortigia Ristorante as an upscale Sicilian restaurant planned to operate daily from 11:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., employing about 20 workers and seeking a full liquor license, per the Hartford Business Journal. Whether that vision moves forward as approved now rests with the court.
