ATHOL – A recent survey of the community shows that Athol residents want to expand on the existing dining options downtown.

In November of last year, Athol received a $25,000 Mass Downtown Initiative grant to undertake a Downtown Athol Restaurant Study.

The results of the study, undertaken by FinePoint Associates of Brookline, were unveiled at the most recent meeting of the town’s Downtown Vitality Committee. In addition to outlining results of the survey, FinePoint CEO Peg Barringer and research analyst Emily Hodos also offered suggestions on how best to support the expansion of downtown eateries.

Eighty-six percent of the 381 people who responded to the survey stated they would like to see a wider variety of dining choices downtown.

“One piece of good news, is that Americans prefer eating out,” said Barringer. “Right now, we’re seeing that about 54% of our food dollar is spent at restaurants, compared to 46% spent on groceries. That trend is increasing.”

Barringer said statistics indicate most people are fine with driving 15 or 20 minutes to area restaurants and there are some 92,000 people within a 15-minute driving distance from downtown Athol.

“So, that means restaurants in downtown Athol wouldn’t just serve the residents of Athol,” she said, “they’d be serving – not just the 12,000 people who live in Athol – but the 92,000 people who live within 15 minutes. That’s really the opportunity local restaurants can serve.”

Barringer also noted that about 1,200 people currently work in or near downtown.

“People are visiting downtown restaurants, but they want more selection,” she said. “What they’d like to see is pubs, brewpubs, bakery/cafes, and what really came out loud and clear in this survey – no more pizza.”

One current problem, said Barringer, “Is that downtown is really not seen as a dining destination; it’s grab-and-go. It has a very take-out kind of identity. People don’t say, ‘Oh, we’ll just go downtown and find a place to eat.’…And there is a perception or myth that the local market might not be able to support restaurant development. It’s a perception, not a reality.”

Barringer pointed to LaunchSpace, which plans to open in Athol, as a potential engine for restaurant development in Athol.

“It’s going to have a shared commercial kitchen and food industry workforce program,” she said. “The hope would be that the food enterprises that they’re working on at LaunchSpace are going to find a permanent home in Athol. That would be a greater feeder system to have.”

Hodos told the DVC that one important step toward attracting restaurateurs to downtown Athol would be to streamline the permitting process. A number of permits are needed to open an eatery, including a business license, certificate of occupancy, and a liquor license and seller’s permit if selling alcohol, among others. There are also permits needed to renovate many of the spaces in downtown Athol that could accommodate a restaurant.

“We did get some reports that there is some confusion with the permitting process,” said Hodos. “I even posed myself as if I were someone interested in opening a restaurant, and I found it was real hard for me to figure out all different pieces I would need to put together for that to happen.”

Hodos said that the recent greening of Lord Pond Plaza, which includes the daylighting of Mill Brook, will, when finished, help to draw people to downtown Athol. When finished, what is now the plaza’s parking lot will include green space, passive recreation opportunities and space for community events.

“That should help to make downtown more inviting to anyone interested in opening a restaurant,” she said

Assistance could be provided by the town, including the DVC, in marketing downtown spaces. Pop-up restaurants, utilizing space on a temporary basis, could also serve as a way to attract new eateries, as would taking steps to beautify vacant spaces which might accommodate a new business.

Among the tasks now facing the DVC, with the help of the Planning and Development Office and other municipal departments, is figuring out how best to implement some of the strategies presented. Those discussions will likely begin with the DVC’s next meeting on July 8.

Greg Vine can be reached at gvineadn@gmail.com.