FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Rick Gambino said he plans to build a deck on the small house at 151 S. Mobile St., where local walkers and bikers can enjoy coffee, cupcake or a hot dog, all with a view of Mobile Bay. He also plans to have a drive-thru lane built for the small restaurant located next to his private residence.

“I think Fairhope needs more of these kinds of places,” Gambino told the city’s Zoning Board of Adjustments at its Monday meeting.

The area is zoned B-3A, which required him to make a special appeal to the board for permission to convert the house into a restaurant, according to city staff.

“We would like to open a coffee house that would offer inside and deck seating, (a) drive through window, bike racks and hitching posts for walker and pets,” his handwritten application to the board stated.

“Our theme would encourage walkup customers for our services of coffee, home-baked cupcakes, soft-serve ice cream, frozen custard and possibly Coney Island hot dogs.”

Several nearby residents wrote letters and spoke at the meeting, objecting to the application, but the board approved it subject to several conditions, including no music would be allowed there, and that the menu would be a small one and limited to the types of items that Gambino described.

Gambino is the former proprietor of the well-known restaurant by the same name once located farther south on south Mobile Street and also ran unsuccessfully for mayor last year.

Several board members expressed concern about the physical plans for the restaurant, including the impact on a large tree on the property that might be in the way of the proposed drive-thru lane, as well as the size of that semicircular drive, and parking issues.

Planning Director Jonathan Smith said all plans would have to comply with city zoning rules and receive a building permit before construction could start, and that process would require a more thorough review of the plans than had yet been received by his department.

“I just don’t think it’s in the best interest of Fairhope,” Cindy McBrearty, who addressed the board Monday, said after the meeting that night. “I think it sets a bad precedent to have a commercial business in that residential neighborhood. I also think the drive-thru aspect could even make the safety and traffic issues worse.”