Ponderosa expansion OK'd

The Portland Board of Zoning Appeals voted Tuesday to accept a variance request from Ponderosa Steakhouse.

The request was for the restaurant to build an addition to the front of the building, located at 1002 N. Meridian St.

David Hull, general manager of Ponderosa, which is owned by Vandelay Industries LLC, said the restaurant would like to build the new room so it can be used for banquets, meetings, wedding rehearsal dinners, sports teams, and other events. He also said the restaurant needs to be expanded because it has large crowds on the weekends and not enough seating.

In addition to building onto the front, the company would like to make the restrooms larger and create two hot bars and a salad bar. Hull said the remodeling will change the layout of the restaurant, which will eliminate “pinch spots” or large crowds in small areas.

“The entire restaurant will be remodeled, except for the kitchen,” Hull said. “Ponderosa has been in Portland for 12 years, as of May 18, and it has never been remodeled.”

The addition to the front of the building will add seating for about 80 people. The restaurant is currently able to seat about 155 people.

The building is zoned as a NB, which is a Neighborhood Business District. This zoning requires the distance from the front of the building to the street to be 53 feet. Expanding the front of the restaurant will change the distance to 35 feet.

One of the three people who voted for the variance was chairman Kenneth Walters.

“It sounds like he’s (Hull) going to make some good improvements for the city of Portland,” said Walters.

The board member who voted against the expansion toward Meridian Street was Betty Miller.

“I just wish there was another way you could go,” she said.

Miller added that the new part would cause the building to protrude farther than adjoining buildings.

In response, Hull said the restaurant was originally built to be expanded in any direction, but if the building grew to the north, towards Rogers Street, he would lose about 15 or 16 parking spots. He added that he asked neighboring businesses what they thought about the proposed change and all approved. He said the vision of customers exiting the parking lot will not be hindered.

A request by the restaurant to expand the north side of the parking lot, along Rogers Street, was approved on May 3 by the Portland City Council. The expansion will add 16 to 18 more parking spaces. Four of the eight parking spots will remain in front of the building, but probably will just be used as a “turn-around” area, Hull said.[[In-content Ad]]