Plan calls for new commercial building

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The building that houses Vinny's Restaurant and Pizzeria on Prospect Street in Naugatuck could be torn down to make way for a gas station, convenience store and a Dunkin' Donuts. Plans are pending with Naugatuck land use boards. –RA ARCHIVE
The building that houses Vinny’s Restaurant and Pizzeria on Prospect Street in Naugatuck could be torn down to make way for a gas station, convenience store and a Dunkin’ Donuts. Plans are pending with Naugatuck land use boards. –RA ARCHIVE

NAUGATUCK — The owners of a restaurant in the Union City section want to tear down their building and another one next door to make room for a gas station, convenience store and Dunkin’ Donuts.

The owners of Vinny’s Restaurant and Pizza, brothers Remzi and Vesel Nasufi, will tear down 44-46 Prospect St., where the restaurant is located, and a multifamily house at 48 Prospect St. They plan to build a 4,500-square-foot building that will include 2,700 square feet of retail space for the convenience store, and an 1,800-square-foot Dunkin’ Donuts with a drive through.

The buildings will be on the corner of Prospect Street and Golden Court.

“We’re finally going to dress up this corner and it’s going to shine,” Remzi Nasufi said.

The plans on file at Naugatuck’s land use office say the building will cost about $1 million and will take about four to six months to complete. It is anticipated to bring between 20 and 30 employees to the area, according to the file.

The plan is now going through the land use process. The Inland Wetlands Agency is performing a site walk of the area at 6 p.m. Wednesday. The Planning Commission has continued its review of the proposal until July 14 at Town Hall. On July 16, the Zoning Commission will hold a hearing on the plan.

If approved, the buildings would be open between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. probably seven days a week. It would be the fifth Dunkin’ Donuts in the borough — others are on Meadow Street, Bridge Street, New Haven Road and in the Mobil gas station on South Main Street.

The restaurant, Nasufi said, will remain in Naugatuck, next door to the new proposed development. Official plans for that have not been filed with the borough.

Vinny’s has operated here for 14 years, and Remzi Nasufi said he has no plans to move.

“We could never close Vinny’s,” he said.