Needed Repairs Put Restaurant’s Future In Question

BREWSTER – Opened in 1956, Chillingsworth Restaurant and Bistro has been a Brewster institution for 70 years. The building itself is much older, dating back over 300 years, and the town building inspector has deemed portions of it unsafe for occupancy.

Longtime owner Chef Robert “Nitzi” Rabin told the select board last week that according to a professional builder, it will require $1.5 million for the restaurant to pass inspection next year. He asked the board to allow the business to stay open through November so he could close out his 50th year of ownership (Robert Stevenson ran the business for the first 21 years before selling to Rabin and his wife in 1976). 

After a lengthy discussion, the board agreed, but with some limitations. The serious structural issues in the old building will need to be addressed before it can reopen in 2027, building officials said.

“This is his legacy season and our goal tonight is to see it to the end,” said Kathleen Morris, who oversees the front of the restaurant. “Let me be clear, all of us at Chillingsworth know the work that needs to be done to the room we call the living room.” 

She said it was their understanding that the temporary fixes implemented earlier this summer would permit the business to remain open for the season. Chillingsworth’s common victualler and liquor licenses run through Dec. 31, and those are normally issued in December for the following year. The restaurant usually opens in May and closes after Thanksgiving.

“We respect the charm of things but they have to be safe,” Building Inspector Tom Delaney told the board. “Most of the issues were addressed in last year’s inspection. We noted the stairs to the second story were dilapidated and they were decommissioned as well as any habitable space on the second floor. It was agreed that nobody would be living there. This year we clearly found somebody living there.”

Delaney and Fire Prevention Officer Scott Romer said it was unsafe for anyone to use the second floor as the floor itself was buckling, there were broken floor joists and they required a structural engineer or building professional to make a full assessment. 

Rabin asked to change his license from hotel/innkeeper to a restaurant; that request remains pending before the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission. A temporary common victualler and liquor license was issued through July 14. The select board extended that through Dec. 31, once temporary safety measures were taken. Rabin was to review long-term repairs and requirements with the building department.

However, a fire alarm was triggered in July, and when the fire department arrived they found someone living upstairs. After more back and forth in October, Delaney told the town the building had failed its annual safety inspection. 

While a professional builder addressed temporary fixes, a long-term solution for structural integrity has not been approved by the building inspector. Delaney said the temporary fixes were only meant to be in place until a permanent plan was proposed, and that hasn’t happened.

“Nothing has happened here and I had to look at basically a nonperformance of what was agreed upon,” Delaney said. 

Morris said the restaurant owner was informed by voicemail that he had to shut down with 24 hours’ notice. The staff turned out in force at the select board meeting Oct. 19 in response. Delaney said they were never told they had to shut down; that would take action by the board. 

“Clearly there are some problems in the old part of the building that are extensive,” said Rabin. A “highly regarded construction company” told him that to open next year, it would cost $1.5 million, “and after that it would be a crapshoot to go much higher because the building is old and would require all kinds of construction to support the upper level.” 

He said the building dates to 1689 and was originally the estate of Foster Chillingsworth, who lived from 1680 to 1754.

“All we’re hoping to do is to continue for the last few days of the season,” Rabin said.

The board allowed the bar and main dining room to remain open while the older section of the restaurant is closed due to the safety concerns. The restaurant will close Nov. 28. At the meeting, Rabin did not make a commitment one way or another to reopen next May. Attempts to contact him prior to deadline were unsuccessful.