Yountville’s Zoning and Design Review Board on Tuesday voted to recommend approval of a use permit amendment and design modifications for Pancha’s bar.
The Town Council will consider the recommendation and the plan at its Sept. 17 meeting.
“I think its a Godsend that somebody so close to the community who’s been here longer than anybody wants to go forward and move this,” Frank Altamura, owner of Pancha’s Pancha’s neighbor, Ciccio’s restaurant, told ZDRB members on Tuesday, referring to local vintner Ren Harris, who bought the shuttered business late last year with the intention of opening it much the same as it has existed for decades. “I think it’s great because they’re going to keep everything the way it was. I love everything about it.”
With Council approval, Harris and Scott Lewis, who will be managing the business once it reopens, will remove stucco elements on the front facade of the building, to reveal its original horizontal siding and wainscoting; restore the gable entry and wood pillars on the front porch, and restore three large windows on the southern end of the building front. The existing Pancha's sign will be restored and remain onsite.
Material changes on the side and rear facades include replacement of vertical and T-111 panels as well as stucco siding with horizontal siding to match the front of the building. Original wood siding, wainscoting, and other elements will be evaluated during construction and either rehabilitated or replaced in kind.
An amendment to the use permit was made to allow a 212-square-foot addition to the back of the building to accommodate ADA-compliant restrooms.
