Business & Tech

Molto Vino Expansion OK'd by Village Board

Wine bar will begin the expansion process in the coming weeks and months.

The Babylon Village Board gave the go-ahead to the owners of Molto Vino as they prepare to expand the popular wine bar into a next-door space.

The bar will expand into the current Solo Vino wine store and the former Country Peddler, as well as add a new backyard seating area.

"I am adding a few extra appetizers and getting more seating," said Molto Vino owner Massimiliano Gargiulo during a public hearing held on July 23. "The application is to basically expand to the east, plus outdoor seasonal seating."

The plans Gargiulo did not differ greatly from those presented to the Babylon Village Planning Board earlier this year. Gargiulo told the board in July he plans to knock down the walls separating the current 19-seat Molto Vino wine bar from its next-door neighbors.

Gargiulo himself is one of the building's two tenants.

Board members had expressed some issues with the business' plan to add an outdoor, back-of-the-property outdoor patio.

"My concern is the patio with the noise, with neighbors and tenants near by," noted trustee Debbie Basile.

Gargiulo downplayed the concerns, noting his intent to build a five foot wall around the patio to try and absorb any noise from the area.

"It's going to be a quiet, low-key patio," he said. "I'm not expecting to have a crowd - we'll keep the lighting dim, too... Wine is a lot calmer than a regular bar. It's not a lot of noise – sometimes it can happen."

Gargiulo told the board he had plans to move the business a few doors down to 55 Deer Park Avenue, the now vacant home of the recently closed Hesperus Antiques.


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