A Middletown restaurateur is stepping aside, putting an end to a long-standing dispute with the city.
Frank Maratta Jr., who's operated the city-owned Harbor Park Restaurant for more than two decades, is expected to be replaced by two business partners who run waterfront restaurants in New York City, the Hartford Courant reports,
Maratta sued the city in 2007 after Mayor Sebastian Giuliano declined to renew his lease.
Last week, on the day before the lawsuit went to trial, Maratta suggested that John Krevey and Daniel Cronin take over the restaurant, ending the dispute, the newspaper reports.
Krevey and Cronin run Pier i Café in New York City's Riverside Park South; Pier 66 Maritime Bar & Grill in Hudson River Park and the Pier 1 Wine Bar in Brooklyn Bridge Park.
The new operators have proposed changing the name of the Middletown landmark to the Mattabesett Canoe Club and turning it into a more upscale establishment.
