CAPE ELIZABETH – Rudy’s of the Cape, a new 80-seat restaurant that replaces a former diner and convenience store, should be open before the end of 2014, according to an architect associated with the building project.

“We are excited about the opportunity for Rudy’s to reopen in late 2014 and look forward to completing construction as soon as possible this fall,” Patrick Carroll, of Portland-based Carroll Associates Landscape Architects, wrote in a letter to Town Planner Maureen O’Meara on Oct. 31.

Rudy’s owner, Paul J. Woods Jr., is not commenting on the project, according to Carroll. The new restaurant is located at 517 Ocean House Road, next to The Good Table Restaurant.

The original Rudy’s opened in the late 1950s as the Bagley Grocery Store. In 1963, Rudy Gagnon took it over and ran it as a convenience store and lunch counter for 30 years. After a succession of owners, Mary Otulakowski bought the business in 2003 and leased it to Chuck Barnes in October 2008. It also operated under the name, Two Lights General Store.

Woods, a Cape Elizabeth resident, purchased the combination 15-seat diner and convenience store from Barnes in July 2011 and announced his plans for the 1.16-acre lot that October. The new Rudy’s will feature a 1 1/2-story contemporary, cottage-style restaurant with 80 seats, including a 10-seat bar and enclosed porch. According to the Rudy’s of the Cape website, the restaurant will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and offer take-out.

When Otulakowski received a license to serve beer and wine on the premises in 2011, neighbors, in a series of hearings, complained to the Cape Elizabeth Planning Board, citing concerns about the potential of late-night noise and unruly behavior of the bar patrons.

Now, however, the bulk of residents’ recent comments are about the new restaurant’s proposal for weathered steel siding, which creates a “rusty patina,” said O’Meara.

The town Planning Board held a public hearing Tuesday, after the Current’s deadline, regarding amendments to the previously approved site plan.

In a letter to O’Meara in October, Carroll said the proposed changes include modifying the metal halide lighting to provide low-energy LED light fixtures; installing granite curbing versus standard bituminous curbing; installing a series of raised planters on the property to be planted with herbs and vegetables grown for restaurant use; adding a 20-kilowatt generator to ensure the building, its refrigeration and safety of guests and staff is maintained in case of a power outage; erecting a 10-foot-tall sign at the main entrance instead of a 6-foot-tall sign, and more.

Carroll Associates is requesting to use weathered steel siding on the lower portion of the building “to provide a high quality, low maintenance, natural and environmentally low impact material with character appropriate to the beach community of Cape Elizabeth,” according to Carroll.

“I think most people are very happy with the overall improvement of the site,” O’Meara said. “I don’t believe there would be concerns raised at this point if the weathered steel had been presented in the original application.”

“The vertical steel siding was supposed to be anodized aluminum in a neutral gray,” said resident David Clarke, who has complained about the siding to the Planning Board. “Now it looks like it is in need of repair as it has a rust finish,” he said Friday.

“While the old Rudy’s was a fallen-down wreck, it had a soul and was one of the centers of life here in Cape,” he said. “There was a vibe at the old Rudy’s. It was very much a local place.”

Clarke believes there is a sense among residents the “soul” of the old Rudy’s will not transfer to the new building.

“I wish Rudy’s would just paint the building, landscape, and open for business,” Clarke said. “Let people vote with their wallets.”

When the new Rudy’s opens, he said, “If they make a decent cup of coffee and a decent slice of pizza, people will forgive. They will move on and they will accept it into the neighborhood.”

Nancy Doyle, another Cape Elizabeth resident, said though she “loved the old Rudy’s restaurant and wish they did not tear it down,” she looks forward to the new Rudy’s.

“I loved that it was a cozy, hole-in-the-wall sort of place where families could gather to share a casual meal and a fun time,” said Doyle. “It was also a great place to go for a beer or glass of wine to catch up with neighbors and friends.”

She said she respects Woods’ right to build a new and different establishment in town.

“I think the siding is gorgeous and makes the new place look immediately rustic, which is in keeping with the old Rudy’s,” said Doyle.

While Doyle values that “Cape Elizabeth is a town that fervently wishes to preserve things as they are,” she said, “change is also a healthy and a necessary part of life.

“I am looking forward to the new version of Rudy’s of the Cape as it will be a new and different place to gather for a meal, and hopefully for a good time,” she said.

The former diner and convenience store on Ocean House Road was leveled and replaced with this new 80-seat Rudy’s of the Cape restaurant, which is still under construction.   

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